The newest edition of the Pioneer Magazine is online. Check out the news of the research community and the story of the featured Pioneer Scholar.
We are excited to announce a new function — Academic Research and Development. Brian Cooper will lead this department to further drive Pioneer’s academic innovation.
23 Pioneer alumni, from 14 countries across six continents, came together on their own to create a film that shares the Pioneer spirit with the incoming 2021 Pioneer scholars.
2020 Pioneer alumni Catherine Kwon, from the US, and Reymajan Jumaniyazova, from Turkmenistan, initiated the project. They wanted to capture the vibrant, global, passionate atmosphere of the Pioneer community and welcome the next year of scholars to the program. Watch the video to see their creation.
Pioneer Academics is committed to the highest standards in academic advancement. It earned institutional backing for its academic system and standards which led to its collaboration with Oberlin College & Conservatory. This groundbreaking collaboration created an unprecedented online education model which has enabled outstanding high school students to conduct accredited research following concrete, holistic standards.
Apply to join the Pioneer community of 4,192 alumni from 71 countries. We invite you to learn more about the program.
The Pioneer Scholars college and university admissions statistics are updated. We are so proud of all our scholars and are looking forward to supporting them as alumni wherever they go!
About the Scholar: Nabo Yu attended The Webb Schools in Claremont, California, in the United States.
The Research:
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the accuracy of tests was so variable that some countries chose not to use tests at all, but instead isolate symptomatic individuals. Pioneer scholar Nabo thought computer simulations could shed light on the effects of testing accuracy on the spread of the disease. His SIR model computational calculations confirm that higher testing accuracy can result in reduced disease spread, and show that even lower accuracy testing is useful in slowing the transmission rate. According to Nabo, the model “has possibly offered a basic method of determining acceptable levels of testing accuracy based on the level of social isolation.”
About the Scholar: Junming Ren grew up in Hong Kong and attends The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, USA.
The Research:
The proposed RAISE Act would greatly reduce the number of visas available to immigrants to the United States and add a skills-based points system to increase the average immigrant skill level, assuming that the majority of American immigrants are unskilled. This paper presents an economic analysis, based on the theories of supply and demand, of whether the Act is likely to achieve its goal of increasing American workers’ wages. It concludes that wages might improve but technological progress could slow, and notes that the ethical aspects of the legislation should also be considered.
About the Scholar: Pioneer Scholar Yuxin is from Shanghai, China, where she attended Shanghai Pinghe Bilingual School
The Research:
Opportunity recognition is when entrepreneurs identify opportunities to introduce new products or services, organize new events, or start new companies. One of the most common sources that can lead us to identify opportunities is our social connections. Yuxin researched how four different types of social networks – family members, friends, acquaintances, and third parties – influence opportunity recognition.
Through a questionnaire that she constructed, Yuxin found that “strong ties,” such as close friends and especially family, may be more influential than “weak ties” like acquaintances and third parties, but that all four networks have positive influences on opportunity recognition.
About the Scholar: Ruochen Jin grew up in Canada and attended The Woodlands High School in The Woodlands, Texas, USA.
The Research:
Most Native American communities value passing on their traditions to their children, who are mostly immersed in today’s technological American culture. Contest powwows are one way to do this. To examine how these events balance the two cultural influences, Pioneer scholar Ruochen not only consulted previous research on the topic, but also attended a Children’s Powwow in the Greater Houston area and later interviewed a representative sample of the participants. Her observations were that at least at this powwow, the balance is maintained by preserving the sacred aspects of the event, while permitting cultural fusion of other aspects.
Oberlin College introduces the collaboration philosophy and scope on its website.
