Welcome back to the third instalment of our newsletter series, marking another significant milestone in our journey of educational excellence.
We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to all the families who attended our recent information event on April 9th. Your presence, with over 120 attendees, truly reflects the growing interest in our school at this early stage.
Since our inaugural edition, the anticipation surrounding the unveiling of our Progymnasium and Kurzgymnasium programs in August 2025 has only intensified. In this edition, we are eager to dive deeper into why our new Gymnasium on the Lake of Zurich is so important, as well as introduce you to another key member of our team. Furthermore, we wish to share some articles that we believe you will find inspiring, helping to shape our innovative curriculum and school philosophy.
Thank you for being part of this journey with us.
Warm regards,
Neal Brown, School Director
and the whole Tandem IMS Management Team
Why another Gymi on the lake?
There are many great Gymnasiums in Zurich that we are privileged to work with. We are in no way trying to market ourselves as better than others, nor are we trying to be a grand school of philosophy or offer an alternative boutique ‘new school’, but rather we complement the excellent academic standards in Zurich while still being unique in what we offer. This is because we also firmly believe in soft skills, project work, problem-based learning and thinking outside the box (and far beyond).
The perfect blend of academic content and the development of students' thinking skills is at the core of our concept. With our unique and new Design Technology and Humanitarian Studies pathways, we prepare students to learn not only the foundation of ‘our’ Swiss Matura knowledge, but also how to search for knowledge, how to embrace and create new knowledge concepts (historical, cultural, social, humanitarian, philosophical, digital…), how to reflect, implement, connect, question, experience, prototype and ultimately rethink. In an educational and learning environment, the process is so much more important than the result. Students will learn how to use varied, new and innovative digital tools, there will be far more experiential learning through creative and critical design thinking processes.
Meet Our Team Members
Alex Chang - the driving force behind our research group
Many of you met Alex Chang at our information event last April.
He describes himself and the skill of design thinking as ‘being able to effectively apply the right tools at the right time contextually to each problem and improvise with the resources at hand as being the keys to his success’.
Alex Chang has been instrumental in helping us put together a fantastic group of design technology experts, made up of former or current colleagues, with backgrounds ranging from Google, Amazon, design publishers to ETH - the group has a wealth of knowledge in all areas of design and technology.
The aim of this group is to ensure that the Tandem IMS Design Technology curriculum is not only a pioneer in the Zurich Gymnasium landscape but also meets the needs of tomorrow's industry. We aim to best equip our students with all the skills, academic and thinking abilities to enable them to go on to university or in the industry. For empathetic design, sustainable design, understanding human-centred design and user experiences are key skills for most careers of today and tomorrow.
Engaging Articles
Welcome to our new segment, where we share articles that link to philosophy and curriculum. The first article we would like to share with you highlights a groundbreaking study indicating that transcendent thinking could stimulate brain growth in teenagers. Teens with higher levels of transcendent thinking showed increased cortical thickness, particularly in regions linked to emotion regulation and cognitive control. These findings suggest that nurturing a sense of purpose and interconnectedness may positively impact adolescent brain development. Enjoy:
Please block your calendar for our next gymi information evening on Wednesday, 2nd October 2024, from 19:00 to 21:00. The event will be held at the Reformierten Kirchgemeindehaus in Küsnacht (GoogleMaps). Further details regarding the agenda will be provided closer to the date.
Pre-Enrolment
We are delighted to announce that pre-enrollment for Progymi and Kurzgymi is open. To get started, simply click this link to access the form.
