Category : India

Soft Robotic Toolkit Concludes Pilot; Students Present Designs

Jul 8, 2021 | Announcements, In Region, India, News

During the COVID-19 pandemic, schools globally have wrestled with the challenges of delivering hands-on learning projects. Enter the Soft Robotic Toolkit, part of the Mittal Institute’s Multidisciplinary Approach to Innovative Social Enterprises, supported by Tata Trusts. This program, as detailed in a MI November interview, uses active, hands-on pedagogy to provide cutting edge, high-quality STEM learning. The project provides students with kits, each of which contain the parts and instructions to create a soft robot, teaching students everything from the creation of silicone materials to the assembly of pieces.

Video: The COVID-19 Crisis in India: Voices from the Frontline

Jul 8, 2021 | Announcements, COVID-19, In Region, India, News

In the second webinar by the Lancet Citizens’ Commission, Srinivasan Jain from NDTV India moderated a timely and important discussion with panelists who have either been directly involved in activities relating to the containment of COVID-19 pandemic or its related care in India over the past few months. The panelists, which included Mirai Chatterjee from SEWA Bharat; Dr Ajay Nair from Swasth Organisation; Sunita Rani, an ASHA Worker; and Dr Priyadarsh from YuMetta Foundation, addressed issues such as COVID-19 preparedness, saving lives, impact on healthcare workers, and protecting mental health.

Op-Ed: Creating a Lasting Legacy of Collaboration Across South Asia

Jun 16, 2021 | Announcements, Bangladesh, COVID-19, Faculty, In Region, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan

The following Op-Ed appeared in numerous dailies across Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Nepal. The article speaks to the commonality of societal structures across the region and the need for trans-border knowledge exchange to combat COVID-19 in the region. By...

Contextualizing Evidence-based Recommendations for the Second Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in India

Jun 9, 2021 | Announcements, Community, COVID-19, Faculty, In Region, India, News

Satchit Balsari, Assistant Professor in Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Steering Committee member of the Mittal Institute, co-authored a comment in The Lancet on evidence-based, affordable interventions to manage COVID-19 in India. His co-authors include a range of other medical professionals: Zarir Udwadia, Department of Pulmonary Medicine, P.D. Hinduja Hospital and Medical Research Center, Mumbai, India (ZU); Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Breach Candy Hospitals & Research Centers, Mumbai, India; Ahmed Shaikh, Department of Emergency Medicine, New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY, USA; Abdul Ghafur, Department of Infectious Diseases, Apollo Cancer Hospital, Chennai, India; and Sushila Kataria, Department of Internal Medicine, Medanta Hospital, Gurgaon, India.

Visiting Artist Fellowship Lecture Series: Decentralizing the Creative Process by Asim Waqif

Jun 9, 2021 | Announcements, Arts Program, Bangladesh, Community, In Region, India, Nepal, Pakistan

The Mittal Institute recently concluded the 2020–2021 Visiting Artist Fellowship, which annually brings four mid-career visual artists to Cambridge to engage with Harvard faculty and students, participate in art exhibitions, and perform research using Harvard’s intellectual resources to further their art practice. Due to COVID-related programming changes this year, the fellowship was reimagined, bringing 13 of the top applicants from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal to the virtual world for a series of four online seminars curated to support the artists’ long-term practice. In these courses, the artists participated in thought-provoking discussions centering on art history, creative writing, urban design, and more, with both their peers and the expert facilitating the class. For the final installment of the VAF Lecture Series, the Mittal Institute welcomed Asim Waqif, a Delhi-based artist whose international work revolves around architecture, ecology and design.

Collaborative Effort Launched to Counter Misinformation with Science-based Guidelines for Covid-19 Treatment

Jun 3, 2021 | Announcements, COVID-19, Faculty, India, News

The Swasth Alliance has announced the launch of a partnership of community-based organizations, frontline clinicians and leading scientists from India and the Indian diaspora to develop a community of practice committed to advancing evidence-based COVID-19 care, contextualized to rural India. The partnership, the Swasth Community Science Alliance (CSA), will provide a suite of timely clinical resources for use in rural and urban settings, all vetted for scientific accuracy.

Lancet Citizens’ Commission Offers Eight Immediate Recommendations for Central and State Governments to Address the Recent COVID-19 Surge in India

May 27, 2021 | COVID-19, In Region, India, News

In response to the alarming resurgence of COVID-19 in India, authors drawn from the The Lancet Citizens’ Commission on Reimagining India’s Health System and its network of fellows have proposed eight urgent recommendations in an article in The Lancet.

Video: The COVID-19 Crisis in India: What is the Way Forward?

May 20, 2021 | Announcements, Community, COVID-19, In Region, India, News, South Asia in the News

On May 13, the Lancet Citizens’ Commission on Reimagining India’s Health System held a joint webinar with the Lancet COVID-19 Commission India Task Force on “The COVID-19 Crisis in India: What is the Way Forward?” The webinar, the first in a new series, engaged academics, practitioners and the public about the recent COVID-19 pandemic surge in India. The discussion focused on the short and long-term actions that are needed to address the impact

The Mittal Institute’s 2021 Seed for Change Winners

May 20, 2021 | Announcements, India, News, Pakistan, Students

With a focus on innovation and entrepreneurship in India and Pakistan, the Mittal Institute’s annual Seed for Change competition aims to award Harvard students with grant prizes for interdisciplinary student projects that positively impact societal, economic, and environmental issues. Learn more about the funded projects.

Walking inCommon: An Exploration of Visual Artist Naiza Khan’s Work

May 20, 2021 | Announcements, Arts Program, Bangladesh, Community, COVID-19, In Region, India, Myanmar, News, Pakistan

In a conversation with the Mittal Institute this week, Naiza Khan, a visual artist who splits her time between London and Karachi, explored the impact of the pandemic on her creative processes and methods of making art. This past year, COVID-19 drastically changed the landscape of possibilities for modes of working and presented new opportunities to engage in making work alongside other artists.

Buddhist Nuns and Biodiversity: Winter Student Grant Report

May 13, 2021 | Announcements, In Region, India, News

With the support of the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute, Harvard Graduate School of Design student Emma Lewis carried out three weeks of remote research with the Ladakh Nuns Association (LNA) in Leh, Ladakh. Her core intention was to begin recording the experiences of Tibetan Buddhist nuns working at the intersection of healthcare, conservation, and climate change response in Ladakh.

Need of the Hour is to Ensure Well-being of the Vulnerable, Whom We Failed Last Time: An Op-Ed by Vikram Patel

Apr 29, 2021 | Announcements, COVID-19, Faculty, In Region, India

Our political class must set aside differences to act quickly and with compassion to ensure economic security and well-being of the vulnerable, as we fight back second wave of Covid-19, says Vikram Patel in an Op-Ed for The Indian Express.