The Mittal Institute spoke with Ranjitsinh Disale, an M.Ed. student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Global Teacher Prize Winner 2020. He reflects on his journey since winning the award for transforming education for young girls at Zilla Parishad Primary School in Paritewadi, Solapur, Maharashtra, India, and the driving forces behind his work.
On March 4, the Mittal Institute will host an author talk on Birthing the Goddess: The Feminine and the Idea of Birth with three of the book’s five authors. This collection of essays explore birthing myths and traditions from the research of five close friends who have a common interest in the mysteries of the Feminine Divine. We spoke with one of the authors, Stella Dupuis, who gave us a preview of the talk and some insight into the book.
For the past seven years, the India Digital Health Net (IDHN)—an interdisciplinary team of experts from medicine, computer science, data science, and law based at Harvard and in India–has contributed to shaping India’s evolving digital health ecosystem. This year, IDHN achieved two significant milestones. In the essay below, Dr. Verghese Thomas, Assistant Professor of Research in the Division of Medical Informatics at St. John’s Research Institute and Associate of the Mittal Institute, provides further insights.
The Mittal Institute awarded 14 student grants this winter, allowing students to set out for locations across South Asia to complete research, internships, or language studies. Allen Wang, a Master in Design Studies (Ecologies) student from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, traveled to Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley and Pokhara to complete a research project, “A climate-resilient future for the trekking industry in Nepals Everest region.” Allen details his experience in this grant report.
In January 2025, the HUM SAB EK (We Are One) exhibition was showcased at The World Bank Headquarters’ Glass Gallery and the main atrium in Washington, DC. It marks the second stop of this traveling exhibition outside Harvard University after a visit at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City in September.
The journey of two of the Seed for Change 2020 winner projects, Growthosphere and Sahayak, exemplifies how seed funding can act as a springboard for bold ideas with the potential to create lasting impact, and the diverse pathways through which meaningful change can be fostered. Growthosphere, born from a vision to empower marginalized youth through entrepreneurial mentorship, has grown into a thriving initiative that bridges skill gaps and cultivates innovation. Meanwhile, Sahayak’s endeavor to address labor migration through rural skill development has provided key insights into the structural challenges of fostering systemic change.
The Mittal Institute welcomes India fellow Dr. P. Arun, a postdoctoral scholar whose work explores the interplay of politics, law, and technology. Under the mentorship of Prof. Sugata Bose, Gardiner Professor of Oceanic History and Affairs, Department of History, Harvard University, he will delve into the surveillance practices of late colonial India, examining how postal and telegraph systems were weaponized against colonial subjects and anti-colonial movements. In the interview, Arun shares insights into his research, his aspirations for the fellowship, and the broader significance of his work.
The Mittal Institute welcomes two new India Fellows, including Dr. Nobonita Rakshit, a postdoctoral scholar whose work explores how the participatory art form of graphic narratives serves as a powerful response to India’s anthropogenic water crisis.
Every January, Dominic Mao, Assistant Director of Undergraduate Studies in Harvard’s Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Andrea Wright, Assistant Dean of Harvard College, train and accompany a group of Harvard undergraduates to India in what’s known as the Program for Scientifically-Inspired Leadership (PSIL). There, they collaborate with local college students to deliver a comprehensive liberal arts and sciences curriculum to high school students. This immersive camp provides intense, hands-on learning experiences, exposing high school participants to diverse academic disciplines, extracurricular activities, and meaningful cultural exchanges. By fostering interactions across these three groups, the program creates a vibrant environment for intellectual growth and cross-cultural understanding.
In a column in the Business Today Magazine, Prof. Tarun Khanna, Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor at Harvard Business School and faculty director of the Mittal Institute, highlights the challenges of extreme heat and how awareness, information, and experimentation are needed to address the problem.
In 2024, the Mittal Institute community came together for virtual and in-person events in Cambridge, New Delhi, and beyond, on a diverse array of topics: a deep dive into the impacts of heat, lectures on ancient architecture and global health, an exploration of Bangladesh’s history and future, and much more. View our curated list of some not-to-be-missed events, and visit our YouTube page for more.
Each semester, the Mittal Institute offers grants to Harvard students to further their research, language study, or internship opportunities. For winter 2024-25, 14 students received funding to pursue projects across five countries. Their work spans a wide range of topics, from rethinking urban waste infrastructure in Mumbai, to studying opium economies across empires, to developing AI solutions for disaster response.