International Gateway for Gifted Youth

The launch of the International Gateway for Gifted Youth (IGGY) was announced at the World Council Conference for Gifted and Talented Children which was held at the University of Warwick on 5 August 2007. The Vice Chancellor of the University of Warwick, Professor Nigel Thrift, made the announcement during his keynote speech. In the same speech he explained why Warwick had decided not to bid for the contract to succeed the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth which Warwick had hosted since 2002. The Government's successor for NAGTY is called YG&T.

IGGY is a key feature of Warwick's new strategy, Vision 2015, but many leading universities and organisations are expected to be partners in IGGY.

Who is IGGY For?

IGGY is targeted at the brightest young people (aged 11-19) from across the globe, with a focus on the top 5% by ability and potential. In England the entry criteria for members mirrors those previously developed for NAGTY and the admissions criteria for international students are expected to be developed on a country by country by basis. The university has reported that interest has been shown from 20 countries to date. IGGY is said to be committed to ensuring that the ability to pay does not prevent the brightest and creative young people from participating and reports that it is targeting philanthropic and private organisations to secure funding to provide bursaries.

In a recent announcement, a spokesman for IGGY described the University of Warwick as being 'not known for its unambitiousness' in reply to concerns over the cost and feasibility of an international gifted youth programme. He went on to describe IGGY's plans for selecting global students and how IGGY was prepared to offer bursaries, stating how IGGY does not want monetary difficulties to get in the way of providing for intelligent youth. It was also hinted that IGGY will be trying to get members in countries which have no education system and even provide for children who have no education, stating that it is very hard to recognise talent in countries with no strong education facilities, but that they would try.

Warwick announced on 22 April 2008 that it was launching its IGGY Summer U programme one year early with the first programme running at the Warwick campus in July and August 2008. Students could win a free place by entering the IGGY Junior Commission competition. These twelve 'Junior Commissioners' were selected in July 2008, undergoing a series of trips in order to produce a collaborative report on a theme of global education.

See also

*Gifted education
*IGGY Summer U

External links

* [http://go.warwick.ac.uk/iggy International Gateway for Gifted Youth "IGGY" ] Warwick's new international venture for gifted and talented children including the UK
* [http://www.warwick.ac.uk University of Warwick]
* [http://ygt.dcsf.gov.uk/ Young Gifted and Talented Website] The UK Government's replacement for NAGTY
* [http://world-gifted.org/ World Council Conference for Gifted and Talented Children]
* [http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,2141517,00.html Guardian Article on IGGY]
* [http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/study/iggy/junior-commission/ The Junior Commission]