Updated on: Monday, October 19, 2009
Here are some of the student innovations which could pave the way for a better India
Project: iScribe
Vasavi Sundaram, final year student of Biotechnology at Anna University, in partnership with non-governmental organisation Vidya Sagar in September 2007 launched an online platform that helps the visually challenged connect with scribes.
www.iscribe.co.in is an online meeting place for scribes, people who need scribes and those keen to volunteer as scribe. Vasavi’s initiative got her selected for a seed grant for the Staples Youth Social Entrepreneur Competition, organised by Changemakers, which is an initiative of Ashoka – a global organisation that promotes social entrepreneurship. Today, the platform has around 1,200 registered members and she hopes to take the platform to other cities.
Project: Seaweed cultivation for fishermen community
If not for the social project of this team from Alpha Arts and Science College at Akkalmadam, a village on the coast of Rameswaram, we would have seen more suicides due to poverty.
Since December 2006, five students have been initiating various livelihood measures for this community affected by the tsunami.
“We act as a catalyst, where our role involves conducting surveys, offering statistical information, linking people with NGOs and the market,” explains Mariam Elizabeth, president of Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) of the college.