technology dissemination fellowship program
The IDI Technology Dissemination Fellowship program allows for targeted dissemination and transfer of appropriate technologies developed at MIT in recent years along with suitable open-source technologies. Operating within the broad goal of increasing the number of MIT technologies that have a positive impact in the lives of people the world over, the TDF program is designed to be flexible and responsive to current student, staff and faculty needs. In many cases TDFs work in teams of two or more students. While in the field, either during the summer or over IAP, the team works in close collaboration with community partners.
DEADINE for IAP 2013 Travel: Monday, November 5th at NOON
Click here to download the application.
Email completed applications to idi@mit.edu
IDI Technology Dissemination Fellowships
The emphasis of the IDI Technology Dissemination Fellowships is on disseminating technologies developed by MIT students and student teams, but we are open to other models. If in doubt, ask! The TDF program may be a good resource for you if your project is currently in one of these phases:
- Incubation – Conducting feasibility studies, generating business plans, refining products, arranging licensing agreements and attracting early adopters.
- Market Development – Raising product awareness, building supply chains, creating financing options, and promoting wholesale and retail sales.
- Impact Expansion – Deepening relationships with current customers, creating new products, increasing production capacity and distribution opportunities.
Additionally, the program may be a good fit for you if your project fits in to one or more of these categories:
- You or your team has worked with a technology in a given locale and need to return to the same community to do further work on dissemination
- You or your team has worked with a technology in a given locale and want to go to a new locale to further disseminate the technology
- You are an MIT student team that is looking for an MIT student to help with your dissemination goals
- You have worked with a community partner in the past and would like to bring a new technology or set of technologies to them
- You are a current MIT student who is working in given locale and want another MIT student to work with you on technology transfer and dissemination goals
Meet the Fellows: Team Fellowships
SANERGY
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Year: Summer 2010/Summer 2011
Description: Sanergy is an MIT-based startup company creating a system of affordable sanitation facilities in the slums of Kenya.
Their model involves three parts: (i) creating a network of franchised low-cost sanitation centers in slums, (ii) collecting the waste produced, and (iii)
processing it into electricity and fertilizer. At each step, this model creates jobs and opportunity while simultaneously addressing serious social needs.
The team is comprised of graduate students from the Sloan School and both graduate and undergraduate student engineers. The TDF funded three aspects of
the work. Team member Ella Peinovich (G, Architecture) worked to transfer new cheaper and lighter concrete mixes, developed at MIT, to local masons they
previously worked with in Nairobi. MIT Alum Nathan Sharpe deployed a bicycle powered pit latrine suction pump to entrepreneurs.
MIT D-lab staff member Nathan Cooke traveled to India enabled the team to learn and acquire innovative micro-concrete technology and novel toilet designs
from organizations there, and to readapt these technologies for deployment in Kenya.
Meet the Fellows: Individual Fellowships
SAM KORNSTEIN, G (Sloan School of Management)
Location: Cambodia
Year: IAP 2011
Description: Sam spent a month in Cambodia evaluating and identifying effective technology dissemination approaches there. The results were
used to enhance the technology dissemination fellowship program through the development of dissemination models to be used by IDI.
The fellowship also aided in the identification of key organizational partners in countries where MIT students work. Sam worked on the development of a
Technology Dissemination Framework by researching effective dissemination approaches, including collaborative models for working with development organizations, technology
testing and manufacturing decisions, and effective distribution and sales approaches. Click here to access the Technology Dissemination Guide.
SHANTI KLEINMAN, G (Environmental Engineering & City Planning)
Location: Nepal/Ghana
Year: Summer 2010
Description: Shanti worked to transfer improved treadle pump manufacturing techniques to IDE-Ghana from IDE-Nepal.
Shanti spent several weeks in Nepal working with the technical team there, and then travelled to Ghana to work on several improvements to their existing
treadle pump, including consolidation of outsourced parts and improvements in cost, timing, and quality.
JOYCE KWAN, '11 (Electrical Engineering/Computer Science)
Location: India
Year: Summer 2010
Description: Joyce spent the summer of 2010 with the SELCO innovations lab working on adapting MIT technologies (mobile farming applications, charcoal, and water quality) to the local
environment in Mangalore, and also pursued SELCO's interests in providing portable lighting for off-grid homes via a prepaid lighting model. One of he projects she initiated,
the Frontline SMS based farmer's information portal, was extended by four senior students of the SDM Institute of Technology, Ujire as part of their senior thesis requirements.
The students have created a more comprehensive database, and successfully tested the portal. Further work is needed to integrate their portal into actual users.
more questions?
Want to know more? Have a technology or community partner to suggest? Contact IDI staff at idi@mit.edu.
