“The first step in making wastewater ‘safe’ is education through scientifically sound studies from reputable sources that prove that wastewater irrigation is not a health hazard. In fact, municipal wastewater is replete with nutrients.” – SAI Research Affiliate and MIT SPURS Fellow, Alka Palrecha Rawal
SAI is one of the partners of the student-run India Conference. Three of the organizers spoke to us about their involvement with the conference and this year’s theme of “Disruptive Innovations.”
Sutopa Dasgupta is part of Sakhi, the team that won SAI’s 2017 Seed For Change competition. She spoke to SAI to update us on the status of Sakhi’s project – the development of high-quality, affordable, and environmentally safe menstrual cups for people in India.
SAI will host dozens of seminars and co-sponsored events in Spring 2018, on topics including the arts and humanities, social sciences, and science. Information on additional events will be updated throughout the semester.
“When I first became a journalist, I did not want to write about celebrities, gossip, and fashion, which many editors would want you to. There is nothing wrong with these topics; however, because a majority of the country does not have access to these lifestyles, it was always on my conscience to bring out untold stories. Journalists are in a position to give voices to a large number of people who otherwise don’t get heard.”
“In January 2017, I received a grant from the South Asia Institute to begin my research in Rakhine and returned in June 2017 to conduct interviews in the Rohingya and Rakhine communities. I gained access to the military encampments and spoke with Rohingya individuals and families who had been displaced during the 2012 riots.”
The following article, originally published in News Karnataka, covers the Lakshmi Mittal South Asia Institute’s Boston Bangalore Biosciences Beginning Program (B4)’s most recent workshop. B4 aims to build a scientific research corridor and will engage scientists from India and Harvard through exchange programs: 1) Science and Technology Fellowships at Harvard and other peer institutions in the Boston area. 2) Two-week courses on Biosciences in Bangalore.
The 25 selected candidates are from all over India and represent research backgrounds ranging from pharmacology to rice genomics. The intensive two-week workshop includes daily lectures and hands-on sessions, culminating in a valedictory event featuring a key note by Dr. Vijay Raghavan (Secretary of Department of Biotechnology, India.)
All are invited to our special Partition events in August – the discussions, exhibitions and performances are free and open to the public.
Our India Country Director, Sanjay Kumar, has written a powerful op-ed in The Hindu newspaper about the issue of food wastage in the country.
The South Asia Institute’s Director, Tarun Khanna, Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor at the Harvard Business School, spoke in June 2017 about our Partition project at the World Economic Forum in China.
The Startup Wednesday show on India’s NDTV explores the challenges of home-based working women and startups that are employing and empowering women in India. Watch as experts, entrepreneurs and the working women themselves talk about the issues they face.