What our Fellows say about the Digital Vision Program

Kyle Eischen, DV Fellow 2002-03:

“An amazing benefit of the DVF was how it got under my skin. While I went to the DVFP confident and comfortable with “digital divide” issues, I didn’t expect to have my understanding taken to a whole new level. It wasn’t new facts that impacted me, but the respect and high-quality that people approached issues with. This is something that I hadn’t expected or couldn’t know before doing it. It also something that I only realized when I returned to the “real” world — where issues aren’t thought through with such intelligence and commitment. The fellows and their project became, without my even realizing it, my benchmark for how I approach problems and evaluate proposed solutions.”

Rajeswari Pingali, DV Fellow 2001-02:

“Being in the difficult field of ‘emotional crisis intervention’ I always suffered with the people who suffered, that was my core strength, it put me in perspective to view issues from the sufferers point of view. I approached the program with the same humility, in some ways only from the users need point of view. It could have become a narrow vision if I didn’t meet people - all those technologists, management experts and people who made great social impact, who respected and shared the same concern. They were more sublime in their ability to make things happen. They are the real ones. They gave me the ability to empathize without shedding tears, all the energy put only for moving forward in making the real thing come alive. This program made a permanent impact of changing my thinking power, and that is a permanent gain. Now, I look at people’s problems dispassionately and move… move… to help them help themselves.”

Sanjay Bhargava, DV Fellow 2002-03:

“For me the program gave me the opportunity to understand how difficult solving social problems is. It also exposed me to “social entrepreneurship” and allowed me to experiment with building a prototype that could change the world. All this in a stimulating environment of leading thinkers, past and current fellows.”

Edgardo Yu, DV Fellow 2003-04:

“DVF marks a turning point in my life. It is a well-defined road in the path to answering the challenge of how individuals can contribute with their skills to difficult social problems. This time that I spend with the fellows and with the entire DVF experience at Stanford as a whole has firmed up my development convictions, corrected misconceptions and tempered my judgment of existing social disparities. It has made me less cynical, but more realistic at the same time. It is amazing to find how the fellows’ conclusions seem to converge after discussions. DVF has made me more hopeful for the world.”

Joe McCannon, DV Fellow 2003-04:

“The program has given me the opportunity to focus on a hard problem (poor communication between frontline providers of health care, and between NGOs) and, more generically but just as significantly, it has allowed me to refine my skills at solving hard problems. Above all, I have benefited through discussion with my peers in the program; these exchanges have forced me to reflect harshly on my work, my goals and the sector I work in and have generated ideas that truly exhilarate me and often keep me awake at night. I wish everyone I know had the chance to feel that kind of inspiration - I will carry it with me for a long time and I will miss my colleagues here when I go (until I get my first email from them…)”

Segeni Ng’ethe, DV Fellow 2003-04:

“This continues to be a unique opportunity for me to not only interact with people with different experiences but with similar goals as mine, but do so under the umbrella of a university that provides so much in terms of resources, opportunities and a foundation through which my ideas can be turned into reality.”

Tom Munnecke, DV Fellow 2002-03:

“My most vivid memories were having Doug Engelbart, the inventor of the mouse, attend the first seminar I gave. We had dinner together that evening, then he came back again the next morning to talk some more before I had to catch a plane. Meeting one of the great visionaries of our time, and hearing of his struggles over the past 40 years, was certainly a great beginning for a Digital Visions Fellow!”

Shuji Yamaguchi, DV Fellow 2003-04:

“My highlights:

Have met and been consulted by CSLI researchers on technical (i.e. computational linguistic) aspects of my project. DVF being housed in CSLI is an ideal situation for any fellows whose project has some to do with languages.
Listening to the speakers and presentations opens up new angles in my views on the world and provides hints for my project.
Gaining 9 month of leave-of-absence itself provides precious time and opportunity where I can explore ways to achieve my goals and even re-examine the goals themselves.”

Rupert Douglas-Bate, DV Fellow 2002-03:

“A chance to come to Stanford and work on a humanitarian project under the Reuters Digital Vision Program, is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity, so be sure to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve before you get here and when you arrive seize the opportunities for all you are worth!”

Nic Fulton, DV Fellow 2002-03:

“The Reuters Digital Vision Fellowship Program was hugely rewarding. The environment of Stanford University, the friendship and knowledge of the other fellows, and the chance to use my IT skills to help in the developing world. A life-changing experience.”

Annamalai Muthiah, DV Fellow 2003-04:

“The fellowship has given me the opportunity to interact with very knowledgeable and experienced people at Stanford. This interaction has helped in defining the scope of the project and bringing together a group of people with similar interest to work together on it. What started off a as dream is now something I believe will happen and knowing that there is expertise that I can reach out to when needed makes me feel a lot more confident in addressing the challenges I face in developing the prototype. Working with the group of fellows I believe will sustains the pace of progress, especially at times when one feels overwhelmed.

“Being a Fellow is a privilege and it is what we do with the privilege that determines how important it is.”

Ken Novak, DV Fellow 2001-02:

“I had been working in international development for 15 years when I took a break to pursue the Reuters Digital Vision Fellowship. I found it an excellent learning and research environment. It gave me a chance to reflect on my experience, to get up to date in the field, and to meet new contacts in the academic and NGO communities that I doubt I would have made anywhere else. The fellowship also introduced me to a new generation of researchers and practioners with fresh perspectives in both development and information technology. After that year, I returned to my previous work with new energy, ideas, and opportunities to pursue.

“It’s been almost three years since I started the Fellowship, and looking back, I’d happily do it again!”

Daniella Pontes, DV Fellow 2002-03:

“The Digital Vision Fellowship Program was a unique experience because it gave me the opportunity to propose and implement new ways of using knowledge and technology for the benefit of the communities, and be rewarded by the positive impact of those initiatives on the society at large.”

Brij Kothari, DV Fellow 2003-04:

“The Digital Vision Program at Stanford is a California ocean with powerful waves. How far you surf depends on the waves you can catch and the skills with which you can catch them. Every fellow here is a seasoned surfer to begin with and only gets better by learning from each other’s tricks. This program is about learning for social change while having a blast!”

Thomas George, DV Fellow 2003-04:

“I came to Stanford University as a 2002 RDVP Fellow after 15 years in international agriculture. I came with an out-of-the box idea for a systemic solution to enable the farming poor to create wealth and the RDVP provided me the opportunity to put the pieces together towards a business model. I found Stanford University to be a hot bed of creativity and innovation. I met and exchanged ideas with many people—-many of whom shared my vision in one way or another at the intellectual or empathetic levels. A really wonderful opportunity, I recommend the fellowship program to any aspiring entrepreneurs from any field, technology or otherwise.”