Concluding summary
The Hungarian Templeton Program, lasting from 1 March, 2015 to 28 February, 2017, was a pilot program designed by Hungarian talent experts. The Program created and implemented new identification and talent support methodologies. With the help of the Hungarian Talent Support Network 314 exceptional (1 in 10,000) Hungarian cognitive talents (aged between 10 and 29) and among them 3 potential geniuses were identified. The program offered personalized talent development program for the 314 Hungarian Junior Templeton Fellows for a year, with a special focus on the potential geniuses. Complex nurturing programs were flexibly adjusted to the individual needs, providing talent consultancy and different courses. Among other options there were individual, high quality mentoring, talent networking, relationship-, communication-, language-, computing-, research-, innovation-, financial- and entrepreneurial-skills development courses, orientation, site visits, scientific research projects, international trips, CSR activities and media interviews.
Beside the new identification methodology the program introduced quite some other innovations, too. Fellows could choose from 500 various nurturing options freely via an online system, ‘purchasing’ programs for ‘Talents’, the virtual money of the program. This special gamification method helped Fellows become more confident and responsible while deciding which opportunity to select. New ways of mentoring were introduced: one-hour counselling provided by prominent members of the Hungarian society, job shadowing, and Junior Mentoring, when older Fellows helped their younger mates. The Program fostered the cooperation of the parents of talented young people, who now self-organize themselves – introducing a new dimension to Hungarian talent support. Very intensive summer camps offered lots of various experiences. Templeton Talks and Networking Days series gave speaking opportunities to Fellows, who were well-prepared by a communications expert, and introduced themselves publicly with a short presentation, followed by free networking. All people (mentors, partners, experts etc.) involved in the program became members of the Junior Templeton Fellow Network, a continuously expanding and supporting community helping Fellows to become leaders, researchers, entrepreneurs of the coming 10 to 30 years in Hungary (and Europe). The program also supported those 1,800 exceptional talents not admitted to be Fellows but showing strong skills and performance during the identification. Besides that the program identified and helped an additional 150 exceptional cognitive talents from 5 to 8 years old children disadvantaged in various ways.
The program contributed to strengthen the talent-friendly social environment in Hungary with accelerating professional co-operations and spreading the insights of the Fellows. The program was well-accepted in Europe and internationally, as 17 countries’ talent experts expressed their willingness to examine the possibility of adapting the program as a whole or parts in their countries.