Select Page

Omidyar Grant Recipients 2012

Mobilize! Digital Libraries

The MOBILIZE! Digital Libraries group is composed of Nisha Deolalikar, Jenna Louie, and Viroopa Volla, of Harvard College, and Karlie Fox-Knudtsen, of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The MOBILIZE! team is advised by Tarun Khanna, Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor at Harvard Business School.

MOBILIZE! Digital Libraries use technology to provide access to innovative educational materials, motivate self-directed learning, and catalyze positive social change. It is the team’s aim to reach students at this essential time and motivate them to reach their full academic potential. By providing a different approach to learning through targeted educational applications found on tablet devices, MOBILIZE! not only supplements existing resources in schools but also combine the power of technology with an innovative way of thinking about student learning. With greater mobility, new capabilities, and lower costs, tablets offer a new way forward for students everywhere.

In this inaugural phase of operations, the MOBILIZE! team initiated a pilot project in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India to establish their proof of concept and refine their operating strategy. “Now, at the end of this summer,” writes the MOBILIZE! team,  “We leave Gujarat with a deeper understanding of a sustainable implementation strategy and lessons that we will take with us as we move forward.”

Click here to read the MOBILIZE! Digital Libraries 2012 Report

Watch the MOBILIZE! Video:

Video credit: MOBILIZE! Digital Libraries – click here to visit their website.

Global Innovation for Translation (GIFT)

The GIFT team includes Divya Dhar, a masters student at HKS, Ellen Roche, a doctoral candidate at SEAS, Chineye Offor, a doctoral candidate at HBS, and Rashid Yasin, of Harvard College. Conor Walsh, Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences is the group’s advisor.

The students spent the summer in Bangalore, India, conducting observations at the Narayana Hrudyalaya Hospital, and other area hospitals. They observed surgeries and medical practices,  taking notes of medical technologies that could be developed to improve the delivery of healthcare. The next steps for the group are to return to campus where they will work with Professor Conor Walsh to identify and develop the medical innovations they saw need for in India.

Click here to read the GIFT 2012 report.