IBChangemakers: ‘Football taught me how to research, reflect, and grow’

The Personal Project and e-Portfolio are important because they help students move beyond classroom learning and apply their skills in a real, meaningful way. Through the Personal Project, students learn how to research, plan, create, and reflect on something they genuinely care about. The e-Portfolio helps them track growth over time, identify strengths and weaknesses, and understand their learning process better.

Meet one such student, Saatvik Arora, MYP-5 at Apeejay’s IB School, Apeejay School International, Panchsheel Park. In an impromptu interview, he shares his learning for the Personal Project and e-Portfolio for the academic year 2025-26.

What is your personal project about?

My personal project is a football tactical guide that explains everything about football from the very start. My learning goal was to understand how managers see the game when they are coaching a match. The aim was to create an informative tutorial guide for young children. When I was young, I was also trying to learn about football. I started watching football when I was five years old, along with my dad.

What research did you do for this project?

I did my research and found that the origin of football started in China, from a sport called Fuzhou. Our sport is similar because you kick the ball with your feet as well. Due to colonisation and other factors, this got incorporated into the UK. The UK first started with railway station teams. For example, the team that I support, Manchester United, was a railway team called Newton Heath. Then that led to clubs, leagues, and everything else.

What challenges did you face?

The challenges I faced were mainly related to contacting experts. I was speaking to my football coach in school, but I also had to contact experts from outside. Through some connections, I connected with a national player, who gave me his perspective on what it is like to be a player playing those tactics for the manager. I also contacted a few managers, and they gave me an evaluation of my product, which was relatively positive.

What is your e-Portfolio about?

My e-Portfolio is about football. I am basically coaching someone and trying to improve their dribbling, passing, and agility skills. I used benchmarks such as the Ronaldo speed test, the McDonald Soccer Skill Test for passing and ball control, and an agility test.

What was your personal growth from this project?

My personal growth from this project, as a player and as a client, is that I developed awareness on the pitch. I also tried to understand my client’s weaknesses and strengths to improve their game. Overall, both projects involved a lot of research. Since I contacted a lot of experts, I gained their perspective because they have a lot of experience in the game.