PARENT BROCHURE
A residential summer at MAHE Manipal for curious, gifted children in Grades 6 to 11.
GenWise runs residential summer programs for gifted children. Each May, children from across India live on the MAHE campus at Manipal, study one subject in depth with a mentor who works in that field, and spend their evenings together.
Every course ends with something the child has made and can explain. A Residential Coach or Teaching Assistant looks after every five children, day and night, and parents receive an update every day.
Most children arrive knowing no one. By the closing showcase, they have a group of friends who share their interests, and many stay in touch for years.
The most he was scared of is, Mama, how will I sleep without you? … But I am just awestruck with the fact that he could do it.
Sakshi, mother of a first-time Explorer, May 2026
The program is held at the Manipal campus of the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), a university town in the Udupi district of coastal Karnataka.
MAHE is a UGC-recognised Institution of Eminence with NAAC A++ accreditation. Children learn in its academic blocks, use its classrooms and laboratories, and live on hostel floors reserved for GenWise.
Marena, the campus indoor sports complex, is used for sport hours and evening games, so activities can carry on in any weather.
Meals are served in the university dining hall, with vegetarian and non-vegetarian options at every meal. Jain and Halal food are available on request.
Kasturba Hospital, a multi-specialty hospital, is close to the academic and hostel blocks, and a doctor is on call for the program.
One Residential Coach or Teaching Assistant for every five children, at all times of day and night.
Children across both GSP'26 editions, May and June.
The largest number of children in any Wizards course, so that each mentor knows every child's work.
Courses are pitched about two to three grades above the child's school grade.
Roughly the split of boys and girls over the last two years, among both children and staff.
Exams or grades. Each child receives a written note from the instructor and a growth report.
Each dot marks a city that GenWise children have come from since 2016, and larger dots mean more children.
cities and towns, and hundreds of schools, since 2016.
countries abroad: the UAE (Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah) and Latvia.
Courses are built around experiments, real cases, debates and projects, and are pitched about two to three grades above school.
Researchers, professors, architects and engineers teach their own subjects, and children are encouraged to question them.
Many children meet others who share their interests for the first time, and make friendships that last well beyond the summer.
MAHE Manipal offers classrooms, laboratories and the Marena sports complex, with Kasturba Hospital close by.
With support around them, children return more independent and more confident.
There are no exams or grades. Each child receives a written note from the instructor, a growth report and a course certificate.
Evenings include sport, quizzes, karaoke, talent night and DJ night, and the program ends with a showcase of the children's work.
Explorers take their courses as one batch. Both groups share meals and evenings and receive the same care. Grades refer to the 2027-28 school year.
Often a child's first summer away from home.
| Dates | Sunday 16 to Saturday 29 May 2027 |
|---|---|
| Length | 2 weeks |
| Courses | Both Explorers courses, one each week, taken with the whole batch |
| Fee | ₹1,20,000, GST included |
For children ready to spend three weeks on one subject.
| Dates | Sunday 9 to Saturday 29 May 2027 |
|---|---|
| Length | 3 weeks |
| Courses | One course from a list of eight, studied for all three weeks and presented at the end. Every Wizards course is open to Grades 8 to 11. |
| Fee | ₹1,70,000, GST included |
Every Explorer takes both courses with the whole batch. At this age, a shared course brings the batch closer.
Children build a paper bridge and load it until it breaks, because breaking it is the point. They feel tension, gravity and friction before they learn the names for them, rig pulleys that lift loads too heavy to raise by hand, and finish the week with a team build using real tools, under close supervision.
A QUESTION FROM THE COURSE
Why is a folded sheet of paper so much stronger than a flat one?
Children explore mathematics through puzzles, patterns and games. They hunt the campus for patterns, from the spirals in a flower head to the symmetry of a leaf, solve number and logic puzzles in teams, and take a first step towards proof. Every game rewards a bold attempt over a safe answer.
A QUESTION FROM THE COURSE
Add any two odd numbers. What do you notice, and can you show that it always happens?
Ramgopal, an educator in alternative learning spaces for 18 years and a practising psychotherapist
More on the siteEach Wizard chooses one course and stays with it for the whole program, with over 90 hours of teaching. Mornings are three hours with the mentor, and afternoons are hands-on work until 4 pm. Every course ends with a presentation of the children's work.
Each course takes at most 20 children, so popular courses can fill early.
Children measure their own bodies to understand scale, build a model of a real heritage house, and spend a day in a working architect's studio. They then design a space of their own.
A QUESTION FROM THE COURSE
Why do traditional houses on this coast have such deep roofs and wide verandas?
Bhavin Shukla, architect and design researcher, MSc from Bauhaus Dessau
More on the siteChildren train real models and learn where they fail. They work with real data, see how generative AI works from the inside, and build a working project by the end of the course.
A QUESTION FROM THE COURSE
A model is right 95 times out of 100. When is that good enough, and when is it dangerous?
Students need a laptop and paid ChatGPT or Claude access.
More on the siteChildren design, build and fire their own catapult, trebuchet or spring launcher, moving from cardboard to wood and 3D-printed parts. Every shot is timed, and the data decides the next design. By the end, they can predict where each shot will land.
A QUESTION FROM THE COURSE
Is the launcher that goes furthest really the best one?
More on the site
Each morning begins with a real case, and each afternoon children test the method themselves: fingerprints, ink, pollen, blood groups and DNA that they extract. For each method, they ask how often it gets things wrong. Nothing is gory: the stains are ink and stage blood.
A QUESTION FROM THE COURSE
When a scientist says “it's a match”, how sure should a jury be?
More on the site
Children build DNA models, work through patient cases as genetic disease detectives, and compare new treatments such as CRISPR and RNA medicines. They also debate whether human genes should be edited at all. The course starts from school-level science.
A QUESTION FROM THE COURSE
If a brain cell and a skin cell have the same DNA, why are they so different?
Berty Ashley, Senior Scientist at DART, Bangalore, and quiz columnist for The Hindu
More on the siteChildren invent a product, or bring one they already sell, and study famous campaigns to learn why some ideas stick. They survey people on campus to set a price, then create a video ad, social campaign or live event and pitch it to a panel.
A QUESTION FROM THE COURSE
Can a startup with no money out-market a company with a TV budget?
Deepak Gopalakrishnan, marketing strategist and co-founder of Rough Paper. He has taught at IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Udaipur, FLAME and NMIMS.
More on the siteStudents learn how economists think, then design a policy of their own and defend it in a policy hackathon. The course suits a child who enjoys making and defending an argument.
A QUESTION FROM THE COURSE
Should a city charge drivers to enter its centre? Who gains, and who loses?
Anupam Manur, Assistant Professor, Takshashila Institution
Students need a laptop and paid ChatGPT or Claude access.
More on the siteOn the first day, children measure the size of a molecule. They then derive the pendulum formula and move on to forces, fields, electricity and light, handling the apparatus themselves.
A QUESTION FROM THE COURSE
How can a single drop of oil on water tell you the size of a molecule?
R.D. Prabhu, PhD in Astrophysics from IISc
More on the site
If your child usually sleeps early, tell us on the pre-arrival form and their coach will help them settle in.
Evenings are planned as carefully as the courses, and outings have the same supervision as the classroom.
Activities include sport at Marena, quizzes, drawing, karaoke, scavenger hunts, tournaments, talent night, DJ night, a carnival, a beach outing, course field trips, a baking day and the closing showcase.
At weekends there are short extra courses and evening adda sessions, in which mentors talk about their own work and interests. More than one child has chosen a school subject after one of these sessions.
Boys and girls stay in separate hostels, on floors reserved for GenWise. Coaches and residential heads of both genders stay on the floors with the children. Two children share an air-conditioned room with an attached bathroom and hot water.
Each child shares a room with someone they have not met before, always close in age. Explorers usually share with another Explorer, and roommates are usually one year apart, and never more than two. We do not take roommate requests unless there is a health need.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus two snack breaks. Every meal includes vegetarian and non-vegetarian food, low on spice. Jain and Halal food are available on request. Allergies noted on the pre-arrival form go to the kitchen and to your child's coach.
We provide bedding, housekeeping cleans the rooms, and a laundry service runs throughout the program.
Guards are stationed at the campus entrance and in every hostel lobby. No one without permission is allowed on GenWise floors.
You are welcome to ask us about any of this on the call.
Our basic rule is that an adult is always within sight or earshot of every child. Each Residential Coach is responsible for a group of 8 to 10 children and sleeps close to their rooms. There are lights-out checks, morning headcounts and a night-duty rota every day.
There is a nurse on the team and a doctor on call, and Kasturba Hospital, a multi-specialty hospital, is close to the campus. If your child needs a doctor or the hospital, a staff member goes with them and we call you.
Every coach and teaching assistant is reference-checked, background-checked and interviewed, then trained by our core team for a week before they meet a child.
The parents' WhatsApp group receives photos and notes every day, and you have a direct line to the program team.
Children never leave campus on their own. Our buses carry only students and GenWise staff, with headcounts on boarding and getting off.
Coaches check in with children through the day and record how each one is doing. Last summer's 1,057 recorded check-ins averaged 4.34 out of 5.
No. The first two days are hard for many children, and a visit can undo the settling in. Parents are welcome at the two-hour open house on the last day. We are happy to discuss special circumstances one to one.
These three weeks have arguably been some of the best weeks of my life. It's just the people I met, the friendships I have created and the bonds I have with them now are something truly special which can't really be replicated anywhere else.
A Grade 10 participant, GenWise Summer Program
The learning which they brought back along with them is fabulous. I mean, out of the world, there is nothing beyond words which I can express. We consciously took those courses which we thought were interesting and which our children could pursue in future.
Kinjal Dharod, parent, May 2022 and May 2023
I'm currently getting my bachelors in Neuroscience, and my first ever exposure to the field was through the Summer Program. My experience at this Program was an incredible learning and growth opportunity for me, both personally and academically. It inspired my interest in neuroscience and medicine, and I am so thankful for the opportunity it gave me!
Rupasri Chalavadi, BS in Computer Science and Neuroscience, The Johns Hopkins University
Coaches keep phones during the day. Children get them back each evening from 9:00 to 9:30 pm to call home.
The first two days are often the hardest. Our coaches are trained for this, older children help the younger ones, and most children settle in within a few days. If your child is struggling, we call you and discuss the next steps together.
No. Each course ends with something made and shown at the closing showcase. Your child takes home a written note from the instructor, a growth report and a certificate.
The program is not coaching, and a certificate on its own carries little weight with colleges. A real project that your child can explain counts for far more. The program ends on 29 May, so June is free.
We ask you not to. Children who share with someone new make friends faster, and alumni still talk about it years later.
We would rather not. Wizards courses are pitched well above Grade 8, which is a big stretch for a younger child who is also away from home for the first time.
Alumni stay in touch through Club GW, our alumni community. Gifted Lab runs online classes during the school year.
Every price includes 18% GST. Booking by 31 December saves ₹40,000 on either program.
The deposit is fully refundable until 28 February 2027, for either group. You can pay the rest in parts, in full by 25 March 2027.
| Notice before the start | Refund |
|---|---|
| 30 days or more | 90% |
| 15 to 29 days | 70% |
| Less than 15 days | 50% |
We handle health and family emergencies, and children who go home early, case by case. If you need to move to next year's program instead, the fee carries forward at the same value.
Let the team know when you apply.
Each Wizards course takes at most 20 children.
Mangalore airport is about 65 km away and Udupi railway station about 5 km. Families can drop their child off on arrival day.
GenWise staff collect children from the airport or station. If your child is flying alone, check the airline's rules for young flyers when you book. We send full travel details nearer the time.
Every family receives a Parent Portal login for the medical form, dietary needs and travel plans, and the Parent Handbook with the full packing list.
The GenWise Quest, online at summer.genwise.in/quest. An Ei ATS medal is the fast lane in.
We share your child's result and call you to talk it through. Ask us anything: safety, food, phones, homesickness.
Wizards pick one of eight May courses. Explorers take both of theirs, one each week.
Pay the ₹40,000 deposit to hold the seat, fully refundable until 28 February 2027. Book by 31 December for the early-bird price.
See you in May.
