Diploma Programme 1 Students Begin Their Extended Essay Journey

On Monday, 1 November 2021, Diploma Programme (DP) 1 students at the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa participated in an introductory session on the extended essay (EE), which is a core component of the International Baccalaureate (IB) DP consisting of an independent, research-based project compiled into a 4,000-word essay.

During this session, the students were informed about the significance of academic honesty, relevant citation and what is expected of them during their EE journey, which is a year-long process ending in November 2022.  

“Something I always say to students is that the EE is a journey – do not procrastinate and take baby steps,” EE Coordinator Prashant Pandey said. “You will realise only at the end of the process how much you have covered by constantly working in smaller chunks. The major takeaway from today's session was that students, between now and January, should finalise their subjects." 

Through the EE students are able to transcend the IB curriculum and classroom setting by engaging in a topic of their interest. The EE also requires students to collect primary and secondary data through research, experimentation, interviews and surveys, thus providing them with the opportunity to implement and develop technical skills that will be valuable in the future, such as writing, researching and citing.

To guide the students through this one year project, the AKA Mombasa has formulated a support system where students are assigned an individual supervisor from within the subject field they are exploring. Furthermore, there is an internal calendar to keep them on track and several sessions to assist them and keep them informed.

"During the session, we learned about the advantages and disadvantages of picking both, a World Studies EE that explores two subjects and a single subject EE. We were also advised to investigate a topic we are passionate about because it would make the entire process more enjoyable and beneficial," says DP1 student Jessica Musoke.