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From India to the World: Student-Led India Conference at Harvard Showcases Country’s Rising Global Influence

Mar 12, 2025 | Community, India, News, Students

From India to the World: Student-Led India Conference at Harvard Showcases Country’s Rising Global Influence

The annual India Conference at Harvard is a student-led initiative that delves into India’s dynamic diversity and its growing influence on the world stage. For over 22 years, students from across Harvard’s schools have brought together thought leaders from business, economics, education, and culture to provide a comprehensive view of India’s present and future trajectory.

Harvard Researchers Broaden Study on Extreme Heat’s Effects on Health and Livelihoods

Mar 11, 2025 | Climate, India, News

Harvard Researchers Broaden Study on Extreme Heat’s Effects on Health and Livelihoods

Climate projections indicate that South Asia will face an increasing number of extremely hot days, posing severe direct and indirect threats to human health and livelihoods. However, traditional temperature measurements—whether from weather stations or satellites—fail to capture the localized effects of extreme heat. Enter the Heat Adaptation and Treatment Strategies (CommunityHATS) study, an initiative that follows hundreds of women working in the informal economy across a variety of indoor and outdoor environments in South Asia to provide a granular understanding of how extreme heat and humidity are truly experienced at the community level.

Ranjitsinh Disale, Harvard Ed.M. Student and Global Teacher Prize Winner, on Transforming Education in India

Mar 5, 2025 | India, News, Students

Ranjitsinh Disale, Harvard Ed.M. Student and Global Teacher Prize Winner, on Transforming Education in India

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.

Masuma Halai Khwaja, Visiting Artist Fellow, on Using Textiles to Create Cultural Narratives

Mar 5, 2025 | Announcements, Arts Program, Community, News

Masuma Halai Khwaja, Visiting Artist Fellow, on Using Textiles to Create Cultural Narratives

Masuma Halai Khwaja joins the Mittal Institute this spring as a Visiting Artist Fellow. A visual artist, she explores textiles as a medium to weave together personal memory, diverse histories, and cultural intersections—creating narratives that transcend their origins. Working with fabrics sourced from local flea markets, she integrates embroidery to symbolize the fragmentation of traditions in the face of globalization.

On Birth, Transformation, and Divinity: Previewing the “Birthing the Goddess” Book Talk

Feb 25, 2025 | Community, India, News

On Birth, Transformation, and Divinity: Previewing the “Birthing the Goddess” Book Talk

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.

Muhammad Ayaz, Syed Babar Ali Fellow, on Governance and Sustainability in Global Value Chains

Feb 25, 2025 | Fellows, News

Muhammad Ayaz, Syed Babar Ali Fellow, on Governance and Sustainability in Global Value Chains

Muhammad Ayaz, the Mittal Institute’s Syed Babar Ali Fellow Spring 2025, is a researcher dedicated to exploring the impact of globalization on production on developing countries. He is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) in Karachi, Pakistan, where he teaches international business and strategy courses at both undergraduate and graduate levels. His research interests focus on economic, social, and environmental upgrading in global value chains (GVCs), corporate social responsibility, and the role of intermediary actors in the governance of GVCs.

Rethinking India’s Digital Health Ecosystem: An Update on the Work of the India Digital Health Net

Feb 10, 2025 | Faculty, India, News

Rethinking India’s Digital Health Ecosystem: An Update on the Work of the India Digital Health Net

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.

Climate-Resilient Trekking in Nepal: A Grant Report by Allen Wang, MDes ‘25

Feb 10, 2025 | Climate, Nepal, News, Students

Climate-Resilient Trekking in Nepal: A Grant Report by Allen Wang, MDes ‘25

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.