(l-r) Jacqueline Bhabha, Conor Walsh and Satchit Balsari
A wide range of India-focused research, innovation and social entrepreneurship projects are under way, led by leading Harvard University scholars and academic colleagues from two other world-class educational institutions: the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of California, Berkeley (UCB), in an unprecedented collaboration with Tata Trusts, one of India’s largest and most important philanthropic organizations, and Harvard Global Research Support Centre India.
This is Phase II of a long-term partnership between Tata Trusts and the Mittal Institute’s India office in Delhi through Harvard Global Research Support Centre India. Phase I was a series of successful pilot projects over an 18-month period, in three areas: women’s empowerment, rural livelihood creation in the handicrafts sector, and the use of science and technology for livelihood creation.
“We have a lot to learn from challenges on the ground while sharing what we as academics uncover through our deep dive research on issues affecting entrepreneurship in India. This partnership with the Tata Trusts is laying the foundation for innovative knowledge exchange between academia and practitioners.” – Professor Tarun Khanna, Director, The Mittal Institute, and Professor, Harvard Business School.
“We’re looking forward to continuing our partnership with the Lakshmi Mittal South Asia Institute at Harvard University, which has a unique capacity to gather together the best minds from a wide variety of disciplines, all dedicated to solving the most complex social problems in India.” – Manoj Kumar, Head of Innovation, Tata Trusts.
The projects, described below, are firmly rooted in India and based on rigorous field research on the ground and facilitated by Harvard Global Research Support Centre India.
Projects:
Prototyping Wearable Robotics for Physical Disability
Faculty: Conor Walsh (Harvard)
The development of a series of consumer-oriented, affordable, wearable devices, to address physical disability in India.
Task-shifting, Training, and Technology: Validating the 3T model
Faculty: Satchit Balsari (Harvard)
This project will prototype the 3T model for primary healthcare delivery, through the use of mobile and digital health technologies.
Project Prakash
Faculty: Pawan Sinha (MIT)
Treatment for curably blind children, illuminating fundamental questions regarding the brain and learning.
Low-cost Toilets in India
Faculty: Rahul Mehrotra (Harvard)
An examination of the issue of public sanitation in Mumbai, with a special focus on community toilets in the city’s slums and informal settlements.
Unpacking Prevention: Community-level Strategies to Build Child Protection and Rights in India
Faculty: Jacqueline Bhabha (Harvard)
Field research in West Bengal, Bihar and Telangana.
Deflouridation Water Filters
Faculty: Ashok Gadgil (University of Berkeley, California)
India has over 66 million people facing risk of developing fluorosis and it is also home to the 5th largest bauxite deposit (3037 million tonnes). This study systematically investigates the factors governing performance of diversely-sourced bauxite ores.
Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition:
Faculty: Chris Duggan (Harvard)
The SAI team would act as the platform on which entrepreneurs in the nutrition and food industry could come together and learn from global experts in the field to design and fund new industries and/or new commercial products that are well designed for mother and children.
Cook Stoves
Faculty: Ashok Gadgil (University of Berkeley, California)
Berkeley has stove designs that reduce fuel consumption per meal by 50%, cost US$20, and produce 50% less smoke than a traditional biomass fire.