9/29/04: Syed Shariq, the Co-chair of the Kozmetsky Global Collaboratory at Stanford, spoke to the fellows about using narratives to understand the mission of a social entrepreneur.

We will start accepting applications for the 2005-06 academic year in
December 2004. You can be kept informed about the application process by
subscribing to the
RDVP-UPDATES Mailing List.

Pingali Rajeswari’s 2001-2002 project, the Digital Dirtbike (or “Computers-on-Wheels for People-Centered Development”), designed and executed by Whipsaw, Inc., was awarded bronze in the 2004 IDEA competition. According to Kristina Goodrich, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Industrial Designers Society of America, “the Industrial Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) is the world’s most prestigious and coveted design accolade.”

Njideka Ugwuegbu Harry knows a simple, timeless truth. No matter how much success Nigerians have when leaving rural homes for cities or even for other countries, they’ll still long to stay connected to family and friends back home. Her SpokesYouth project will make it easier to establish these connections –along the way empowering youth in rural Nigeria to gain valuable technology skills.

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After 15 years programming applications for Palo Alto-based Reuters Innovation Studios, Steve Wilhelm happened to visit a Stanford graduate course that broadened his horizons all the way to Cape Town, South Africa. The course, taught by Stanford Communications Professor Clifford Naas, charged students with creating culturally appropriate products for developing countries. Inspired, Steve applied to the Digital Vision Program and was soon dreaming up a project of his own.

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9/14-15/04: Fellows spent two days with the innovation gurus at IDEO in Palo Alto, exercising their fieldwork, brainstorming, and prototyping skills.

The 2004-2005 class of fellows has arrived at Stanford. Learn more about the new fellows and their projects.

Khalid Quadir’s computer programming skills and understanding of building dynamic databases are minimal, but that didn’t stop him from using those concepts to solve the problem of public access to documents in developing countries.

“Government documents and business documents are difficult to access even for urban dwellers. In the developing world, people have to wait in a long line for a simple application,” said the Bangladesh native.

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