UNLEASHing a Thousand Ideas: Potential Solutions to Sustainable Development Goals
Little did I know where my life was headed when I decided to trace back my steps to India two years back to join the Young India Fellowship (YIF) in Sonepat, leaving behind a comfortable career in space science in the United Kingdom. In setting out to contribute to the development space, my heart was in the right place but my mind was anxious about the uncertainties that lay ahead. Today, I reside in Kovvur, a 40,000 people town in Andhra Pradesh (AP), working on improving sanitation infrastructure and changing perceptions. I live amongst people who belong to a socio-economic background unlike the one I have been in the comforts of and who speak a language I do not understand. The challenges of relocating from a first world country to a remote part of India without friends or family around, and shifting from the research field to the social impact sector have been immense — albeit a rather satisfying journey. I have found my purpose in seeking to reduce the inequalities in society.
Even before I completed my MSc in Circuit Design from Imperial College London in 2013, I was invested in using technology for the betterment of others. As an electronics engineer, I had helped research institutes in India to assist farmers with novel soil testing techniques, supported Canadian authorities through the MITACS Globalink program to help ensure responsible energy consumption by domestic users and designed a glucose sensing device for diabetic patients as part of my MSc thesis in UK. But I wished to do more. I had always been fascinated by the idea of addressing the last mile connectivity issues in implementing such technical innovations at the grassroots. And that’s when I joined the year-long liberal studies program for postgraduates, YIF, in 2015.
YIF showed me the power of bringing together a diverse cohort of 200 energetic young people–people who came from different geographical, economic, caste and cultural backgrounds, genders, religions, professions and political viewpoints. The magic that was created by allowing interpersonal conversations brew through late night chats or discussions at breakfast tables or peer-to-peer learning in classrooms left me spellbound. The common denominator amongst us was the willingness to open up our minds to ideas and perspectives different from our own, to learn, to generously share knowledge, and the eagerness to make an impact.
As I prepare to join the founding batch of UNLEASH Innovation Lab in Denmark two weeks from now, I envisage a similar synergy. UNLEASH provides a global platform to bring together academicians, strategists, policy makers, implementers, artists, entrepreneurs, students and more, to find unconventional solutions to United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The power of a 1000 dynamic youth leaders interacting during a nine-day intensive program to convert personal insights to tangible solutions is inconceivable. I am both overwhelmed by this opportunity and nervous to venture into unchartered terrains. However, I am also equally excited at the possibility of recreating that magic from YIF manifold, and hope to forge long-lasting relations with these torch bearers from 110+ countries. I am eager to share, learn, explore, collaborate and co-create amidst the sheer diversity, and the incredible stories of lived experiences of all my fellow global talents.
Having been part of a large scale public project now through the University of Chicago’s International Innovation Corps (IIC) program, I have explored SDG 6 — Clean Water and Sanitation — over the past year. My team assisted local authorities in strengthening policies to ensure safe management of fecal sludge and helped Kovvur become Open Defecation Free (ODF). Currently, I lead efforts on designing and implementing a novel approach to monitor river water quality in India’s second longest river, Godavari. Rivers are a source of drinking water in many developing countries, and the idea is to encourage data-driven decision-making by the concerned agencies based on providing date, time and geo-stamped, real time data to them through a digital platform. Making this platform accessible to the public will increase awareness towards common pool resources such as large water bodies and hence, improve transparency about the quality of water being used by everyone.
At the Innovation Lab, I look forward to sharing my anecdotal experiences of working at the grassroots with the curiosity of a researcher, and hope to bring back learnings from across the globe to my work. Achieving the SDGs is a mammoth task and it will be crucial for the diverse voices meeting in Denmark to ensure that their collective ideas mature to tangible on-ground action with time.
