What is the UWC movement?

The colleges / schools in the UWC movement offer life-defining experiences for young people, enabling them to discover the possibility of change through courageous action, personal example, and selfless leadership. This education enshrines a commitment to the balanced development of the whole person: its task is to encourage an integrated development of human potential across a range of dimensions, including the intellectual, moral, aesthetic, emotional, social, spiritual and physical.

Each college responds to the UWC mission statement within the context of its location; this creates distinctive identities based upon local resources and opportunities. However, all colleges share the same basic values as outlined in the UWC mission statement: international and intercultural understanding; celebration of difference; personal responsibility and integrity; mutual responsibility and respect; compassion and service; respect for the environment; a sense of idealism; personal challenge; action; and personal example

After 1967, under the presidency of Lord Mountbatten, new colleges were founded to give more people access to the UWC approach to global education. In 1971 the United World College of South East Asia was established in Singapore, followed by the UWC of the Pacific in Canada in 1974. Under the presidency of Prince Charles, four more UWCs were inaugurated: 1981 in Swaziland, 1982 in Italy and in the United States and 1988 in Venezuela. The pace accelerated with the foundation of three colleges within five years: Hong Kong I 1992, Norway in 1995, and India in 1997, thus raising the number of colleges to ten. The eleventh and twelfth colleges, in Costa Rica and Bosnia & Herzegovina, were opened in 2006. The thirteenth opened in September 2009 in Maastricht, Netherlands. A fourteenth college, UWC España, has received preliminary approval for opening in September 2013 in Cantabria, Spain.

The UWC international organisation has thirteen colleges around the world. Admission is through National Committees in more than 130 countries. There is a network of more than 40,000 alumni from more than 181 countries and an International Office in London. Nine of the UWC colleges teach the International Baccalaureate, with three schools in Singapore, the Netherlands and Swaziland also teaching a pre-16 syllabus to younger students. The vocational college in Venezuela accepts students at tertiary level and teaches a Higher Diploma in Farm Administration.

What is UWC Mahindra College and how is it different from other IB schools?

UWC Mahindra College is truly an international community: our students come from around 50 different countries and from widely diverse backgrounds. Our campus is a living and learning experience, with the classroom being only the starting point. Our goal is to enable students to learn a positive but critical approach to problem solving, and to think globally while acting locally. We are a community built on trust and respect, and we believe that the best way to learn personal responsibility is by learning to handle freedom.

What does UWC Mahindra College say about itself?

You will learn how to think, not what to think. You will learn to express yourself with confidence and clarity in speech and writing. You will be encouraged to express your ideas openly in classroom discussions, Global Affairs meetings and other venues. Your learning experience will combine breadth with depth. You will be encouraged to challenge ideas and to think creatively.

Service to others is an integral part of the college experience. It is one component of the IB Diploma Creativity, Action and Service (CAS - now Community Engagement) programme, but at UWC Mahindra College, students go far beyond this requirement, spending at least three to four afternoons each week in the Triveni Programme. Although service through community and campus engagement is a principal focus, both action and creation also play vital roles in students' lives.