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.
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.
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.
A brief history of the South Asian Poets of New England (SAPNE) and an interview with one of its core committee members
Three in four emerging infectious diseases are spread to humans from animals. Yet, the nature of our relationship with animals and the forces that drive this risk are only now beginning to come into focus. Our research, led by the Animal Law & Policy Program at Harvard Law School, operates at the intersection of public health, conservation, and animal welfare to better understand these connections and what can be done to prevent future outbreaks.
More than a year into the pandemic, Pakistan is fighting the third wave that is sweeping across its main urban centers. The hospitalization statistics increased manifold compared to the first and the second wave. However, after a relentless increase, the statistics are now beginning to register a slight respite. The seven-day moving average of the positive percentage now stands at 9.8%. Despite this trend, caution needs to reign supreme.
Isabel Macdonald, a Harvard doctoral student in public policy, was the recipient of a Mittal Institute Seed for Change grant in 2020. Isabel’s research focuses on education and financial inclusion, and her current projects include an analysis of training for microfinance borrowers in Pakistan, and a framework for the political economy of education reform. The following is a report on her project, KamyabiTest, a smartphone app that better helps Pakistani teachers track student progress.
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.
A fundraiser by South Asian students in the US in support of India’s fight against Covid-19. The fundraiser is running in partnership with GiveIndia, which works closely with organizations on the ground to address critical needs. The platform provides transparent information on fund disbursement and accepts USD, INR and other currencies.
On Monday, April 19, a panel of experts came together to discuss innovations in the public health sector, translating health research into practice, and the challenges of creating an enabling environment for these innovations to thrive.
On April 22, Professor Tarun Khanna, Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor, Harvard Business School, and Director, Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute, Harvard University, addressed the Thirteenth Session of the Distinguished Global Indian Speaker Series (DGISS) organized by Amity University Gurgaon.
The years of post-mortem that follow will dissect how we arrived here. But for now, the path out of the current inferno requires unwavering commitment to science, and perhaps tremendous rectitude. Let us examine what we can do in the coming months.