A bridge to life-long learning

Ullens LEAP - Life-long-learning, Empathy, Accountability, Pushing your boundaries – is the 1st of its kind structured virtual gap year program bringing together academic learning, skills development, digital technology, independent learning, higher education and career preparedness along with experiential learning opportunities.

We enable students to become empathic, curious, self-reflective, critical thinkers, life-long learners with a drive to make a positive and sustainable impact in their community. Our well-crafted program is designed to guide students who have recently completed their high school to become more self-aware and discover their uniqueness enabling them to make more educated future decisions. The World Economic Forum has listed the most in demand skills by 2022 are active learning, creativity, and taking initiatives. With that in mind, our program follows action learning principles and mirrors a liberal arts education system where students take charge of their learning and are exposed to multidisciplinary topics.

Join Ullens LEAP

In this ever-changing world, education is becoming more dynamic, and adaptive even prior to the Covid pandemic. Ullens LEAP bridges the gap between school and university, creating a strong foundation for well-rounded adult life.

At the end of this online program a student would have:

Gathered insights and preparation for further studies in Nepal and abroad while learning how to survive and thrive in college
Built self-reflection skills and soft skills such as analytical thinking, complex problem solving, emotional intelligence, leadership and effective communication
Built meaningful relationship with co-learners and mentors
Gained exposure to numerous subjects, interdisciplinary fields and frameworks, akin to a liberal arts curriculum
Developed essential life skills such as money management, safety in the digital world, mind and body connection, nutrition and wellbeing etc.

Ullens LEAP is Unique

Most often grades and rigid curriculums drive learning decisions. We want to separate learning from grades and open it up for all students. As such we do not have a GPA requirement for our program. However, we do want our students to add to the learning environment by bringing diversity and their passion for acquiring knowledge. We want to enable students who haven’t had a chance to take a subject they were intimidated from, in an open and welcoming learning environment with guidance from our course conveners and mentors. In our program the competition is not with other students, but with oneself. We believe marrying experiential learning with academic frameworks enable students to get the best of both worlds. We want to connect our students with Nepal from a different perspective and enable them to be the ambassador for Nepal and its richness wherever they go.

Some of the courses from which students can choose are -- Humanities biggest challenges, Entrepreneurship, Digital skills and knowledge through our TechSmart program, College level writing skills, Mathematics for STEM and social science and more. Some life skills courses include -- Art of Communication, How to influence, Money Management and more. All in all this program enables students to become responsible global citizens.

In a time where recent high school graduates have had to bear the weight of the pandemic on their further education we understand the need to support them both in their learning and development as well as wellbeing. Therefore along with mentorship we also offer wellbeing counselling support and 1:1 coaching.

Optional Outdoor Learning Experience

Our optional modules around the Outdoor Learning Experience are scheduled throughout? the duration of the program; however, it currently depends on the situation of the pandemic.

Outdoors and wilderness have proven to be an effective classroom for learning leadership, appreciating what you have, developing self-reflection skills, building confidence and getting to know yourself.

Skills like first aid, terrain knowledge, patience, maintaining composure in tough situations, decision making, improvising on plans as you go, and symbiotic relationship with nature are essential for a physically active adult life. However, these are not always taught in a regular school curriculum in an experiential setting. Through Ullens LEAP, we will be imparting these essential outdoor skills to the students. Our learning by doing experiential program helps students understand the cultural, conservation, sustainability and instill environmental values to create a better society.

While we value treks, travels and outdoors learning experiences, if the situation does not permit, we have alternative options that can be performed in the house that will mirror the learning of outdoors as much as possible.

Our program will not only fill that "gap", rather utilize it to better position our graduates for the challenges ahead in life as they transition to adulthood.

Our first priority is to avoid Covid-19 transmission by taking zero risks therefore we have planned for a fully virtual program with flexibility to take on any outdoor learning component when the situation permits.

Blended mode (Online, On Campus and Outdoors)
20 – 30 hrs time commitment per week (including independent learning time)
Driven by students guided by course conveners and mentors
Mandatory and wide-ranging elective courses and workshops
Interactive and reflective learning experience
Mental wellbeing and counselling support

Application details

Eligibility

We welcome all students who have recently completed their high school to join Ullens LEAP. There are no GPA or grade requirements. However we have a rigorous application process with two short essays that needs to be submitted.

Application Dates

The applications will open in early 2022.

Scholarships

Limited partial and full scholarships available on merit and need basis. Students will need to fill out additional information in the scholarship section of the application form. Partial scholarships will be given out on a rolling basis. Please apply early if you would like to secure a place in the program with scholarship.