IT for Social Impact India Study Tour December 2014
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IT for Social Impact India Study Tour December 2014 Swinburne University of Technology | Study Tour Report Contents Overview ....................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Tour Participants .......................................................................................................................................................... 4 Mission Statement ........................................................................................................................................................ 4 Project Plan and Charter ............................................................................................................................................... 4 Achievements ............................................................................................................................................................... 5 Day 1 ............................................................................................................................................................................. 6 Ecoreco ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Apne Aap .................................................................................................................................................................. 7 Day 2 ............................................................................................................................................................................. 8 Dharavi ...................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Days 3-12 ...................................................................................................................................................................... 9 Arrival in Pal .............................................................................................................................................................. 9 Proof of Concepts ................................................................................................................................................... 10 Kano .................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Library Box .......................................................................................................................................................... 10 IT Social Audit ......................................................................................................................................................... 11 Jamnya .................................................................................................................................................................... 12 Our final night in Pal ............................................................................................................................................... 14 Days 13-15 Agra, Taj Mahal and New Delhi ............................................................................................................... 15 Cultural Immersion ..................................................................................................................................................... 16 Where to from here? .................................................................................................................................................. 17 IT for Social Impact… A final word and acknowledgments......................................................................................... 17 Testimonials ................................................................................................................................................................ 18 We’re ready for ITfSI-India-3 ...................................................................................................................................... 19 Further details ............................................................................................................................................................ 20 Swinburne University of Technology | Study Tour Report Page 3 IT for Social Impact India Study Tour 7-22 December, 2014 Overview For 2 weeks in early December 2014, I had the privilege to accompany a group of 7 Swinburne University of Technology IT students on their IT for Social Impact Study Tour through India. Our tour [ITfSI-India-2] was the second in 2014 for Swinburne IT students and staff. In January, staff members Chris Felstead and Louise Kellerman accompanied 4 students as they journeyed through Mumbai to the village of Pal in the remote tribal region of Maharashtra State and onwards to Agra and New Delhi. In Pal, they conducted technology audits of village schools, fixed and installed computers and weather stations and began the process of outreach and engagement between Swinburne, CERES Global, Satpuda Vikas Mandal (SVM - our host NGO) and the communities of Pal and surrounding villages. This report describes the December 2014 tour’s continuation of the audit (repair/install process) and additional activities for our tour such as trialling ‘proof-of-concepts’ of two particular technologies (Kano and LibraryBox), the conducting of hands-on workshops with children of the Mumbai Red Light District and with students at schools in Pal, Khiroda, Mohamandli, Jamnya and Lohara and conducting a social/IT audit of Pal and surrounding village schools. Each day held an array of unforgettable food and experiences; meeting Pal’s first Internet Kiosk entrepreneur, humbly accepted an invitation to meet the Guru from the village Hindu temple and participating in and observing two religious festivals which were held in Pal during our stay. India’s tourism department have got it right: Incredible India! I hope you enjoy reading the report. My name follows, but really, this is our team’s report, our shared words, thoughts and reflections. Dr Jason Sargent / March 2015 Swinburne University of Technology | Study Tour Report Page 4 Tour Participants Student Name Course being studied and role on tour Matt Bull Bachelor of Information Technology / LibraryBox Boyd Callahan Bachelor of Information Technology / Technical lead Sam Coonan Bachelor of Business Information Systems/Bachelor of Business / Technical Amber Harli Bachelor of Business Information Systems / IT Social Audit Essie Lausberg Bachelor of Information Technology / Project Manager Kevin Nguyen Bachelor of Information Technology / LibraryBox, Kano support, ‘Relations’ Victor Teoh Bachelor of Information Technology / Kano Academic Dr. Jason Sargent Lecturer in Information Systems Above from left: Boyd Callahan, Matt Bull, Victor Teoh, Essie Lausberg, Amber Harli, Dr. Jason Sargent, Kevin Nguyen, Sam Coonan & Noel Blencowe (CERES) Mission Statement The students developed their mission statement to guide what they hoped to achieve and the way they would go about their journey for IT for Social Impact in India. Their mission was to… …Apply IT knowledge to sustain existing IT implementations and identify opportunities for new IT solutions, in collaboration with the community, in order to sustainably promote and facilitate equality, empowerment and education. Project Plan and Charter The students also developed a project plan and charter for stakeholder approval. These documents were presented to Ashok Zambare (SVM) and Noel Blencowe (CERES) upon the student’s arrival in Pal. The students were determined that their intention to visit Pal was to align the tour’s values with CERES and SVM and to collaborate with the tour’s partners to make a positive impact. The students had no intention to march in just with their own ideas about what ‘solutions’ they thought needed to be provided and declaring “We’re here to HELP!” Swinburne University of Technology | Study Tour Report Page 5 Achievements A summary of the tour’s achievements are listed below: Conducted introductory computer courses with children at Apne Aap (Mumbai); Completed a technology audit of equipment used in SVM schools in Pal and surrounding villages; o Virus scanning and defragging of hard drives o Fixed/replaced faulty equipment such as RAM, motherboards and monitors Conducted hands-on workshops (iPad, games, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, Paint etc.) with school students at Mohamandli, Jamnya, Khiroda and Lohara schools; Conducted a Social/IT audit (Technology ownership by students by age group/gender) of students at Pal Secondary, Khiroda College, Open University at Pal, Mohamandli, Jamnya & Lohara schools; Converted to e-format (spreadsheet) a paper-based system for Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) to send information to multiple farmers (approx. 1200+) throughout Pal and surrounding districts; Fixed/recalibrated weather stations at KVK and Jamnya; Conducted teacher training for Kano and Library Box technology proof of concepts; Met with Pal’s first Internet kiosk entrepreneur; Studied basic Hindi language lessons; Participated in 2 Hindu festivals and visited and participated in a Hindu religious celebration and then spent time discussing the meaning of life with the Guru. Above: One of the tour’s main objectives and achievements was the conducting of hands-on technology