Interviews
IBChangemakers: ‘My projects helped me learn new things beyond the classroom’
Apeejay’s IB School student shared that the personal and e-portfolio projects helped him connect learning with real-life skills
Personal Project and e-Portfolio are necessary because they help IB students learn beyond classroom lessons. Through these projects, students research, plan, reflect, and present their work with confidence. They also understand their interests better, improve practical skills, and learn how to take feedback and work responsibly.
Meet one such student, Aryan Pahuja, a MYP-5 (recently promoted to DP-1) student at Apeejay’s IB School, Apeejay School International, Panchseel Park. In an impromptu interview, he reflects on his Personal Project and e-Portfolio for the academic year 2025-26.
What is your personal project topic?
My personal project topic is based on authentic Indian recipes. I wanted to learn more about traditional Indian food and share it with others. I found this topic while scrolling through YouTube. I noticed that many people watch food videos, but not many people know about authentic Indian recipes. Most people know about popular dishes, but they may not know the original taste, ingredients, or method behind them.
Why did you choose this topic?
I chose this topic because I see many people going for junk food these days. They eat fast food often and do not always know what real, authentic food tastes like. I wanted to show that Indian food is not only tasty but also has a lot of tradition and meaning behind it.
What did you want to create for this topic?
I wanted to create a YouTube video on authentic Indian recipes. Through this video, I wanted to explain the recipe, show the process, and help people understand the value of traditional food. My main aim was to spread awareness about authentic Indian recipes. I wanted people to know that traditional food is still important and should not be forgotten.
What research did you do for your project?
I researched different Indian recipes and tried to understand which ones would be suitable for my project. I also looked at food videos on YouTube to see how people present recipes and explain the steps. I collected evidence through a survey that I conducted to see what people think about authentic Indian food. I also used the response from my YouTube video as evidence.
From the survey, I learnt that people have different opinions about Indian food. Some people like traditional food, but some people prefer junk food because it is easy and quickly available.
What challenges did you face?
The challenges that I faced were that some recipes got rejected by my supervisor sometimes, so I had to find new ones. It took time because I had to choose recipes that were suitable, authentic, and easy to explain.
What is your e-portfolio about?
My e-portfolio is about football. I chose it because I am interested in the sport and I wanted to improve my skills in it. Football is a sport that needs fitness, teamwork, focus, and regular practice. I included my football skills, my planning, and the activities related to training my client. I have also included benchmark tests, interviews, client analysis, and the process I followed during the project.
How did you train your client?
It was through basic football drills and practice activities. I focused on skills like passing, dribbling, shooting, ball control, stamina, and teamwork. I also observed the client’s performance and gave feedback.
What did you learn from this?
I learnt how to plan training, analyse a client, and understand the importance of practice. It also helped me organise my work properly, understand my progress, and show the steps I followed during the project.
