Summer 2013 - India
iSTEP (innovating Student Technology ExPerience) is a rigorous and competitive 10-week internship program that requires the involvement of students with high levels of dedication, team work, cross-cultural adaptability, initiative and academic achievement. Students who have participated in iSTEP in past years have exhibited tremendous personal and professional growth as a result of their experiences conducting field research in developing community settings.
As a research group based at CMU’s Robotics Institute since 2004, TechBridgeWorld has developed several creative and innovative computing tools related to assistive technology and education. Student researchers have played a key role in the development of these innovative tools. Some of the technologies developed by TechBridgeWorld generally, and iSTEP teams specifically, have been released under relevant open source licenses. These innovations include:
- Braille Writing Tutor - a unique educational tool for visually impaired children to practice braille writing with an electronic slate and stylus through a variety of educational exercises and games.
- NavPal - a smart phone-based application for indoor and outdoor navigation geared to the diverse needs of people with disabilities, with broader applicability to all.
- TechCaFE - a suite of simple tools for customizable and fun education which allows teachers to create content for student practice through exercises and games on mobile phones, OLPC XO laptops, or other computing devices.
Our primary community partner for iSTEP 2013 is the Mathru School for the Blind in Bangalore, India. The majority of the iSTEP team members will be based in India with some team members working from Carnegie Mellon University’s Pittsburgh campus.
The deadline to apply for iSTEP 2013 is November 11, 2012. Click here for the application form for iSTEP 2013.
Location
India is a South Asian country with a rich history that celebrates a large diversity of ethnicities, traditions, religions, and languages. Geographically, India is the seventh largest country in the world, but has the second largest population worldwide, with an estimated population of 1.2 billion (as of July 2012). One of the largest growing economies in the world, India’s key industries includes agriculture, textiles, software, food processing, and mining. However, the service sector is the primary contributor to the country’s GDP. In spite of its economic and technological advancements, India is still considered a developing nation, with about 30% of its population estimated to be below the poverty line and an average literacy rate of about 60%.
Bangalore is located in the southern part of India and is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Known for being a hub for the information technology sector in India, Bangalore is a thriving city that is home to many prominent Indian academic and research institutions. Given its high elevation, Bangalore enjoys a more moderate climate compared to many other tropical locations, with an annual average temperature between 64 and 84 degrees Fahrenheit.
Links
Primary Community Partner: Mathru School for the Blind
The Mathru School for the Blind (Mathru), located in Bangalore, India, is a privately run, non-profit institution, founded in 2001 by Ms. Gubbi R. Muktha with the support of individual donors. Ms. Muktha was inspired to create this school because she recognized the plight of the blind community in India and wanted to offer blind children a better opportunity in life. Given her own struggles to become self-sufficient in spite of a physical impairment, she identified a need for assisting the visually impaired to gain independence and a sense of self-worth. She noted that typically, visually impaired people in India relied heavily on sighted people for help with day-to-day activities such as boarding the correct bus. Mathru strives to teach its students to be more independent and reach their full potential, so that they can become valuable members of society.
Mathru has surpassed even Ms. Muktha’s expectations with it growing from very humble beginnings to a widely recognized and respected establishment. The school began with just one student and one teacher, but today includes over 80 students, about 10 teachers, and several administrative and support staff at its own premises in Bangalore. Mathru provides residential facilities for students, which is an added benefit since many students’ hometowns are far from Bangalore. Moreover, education at Mathru is offered at no cost to students, which enables students from even the poorest families to benefit from an education that they may otherwise be denied. Mathru recently created a separate center to assist students with multi-sensory disabilities (e.g. deafblind children) and continues to seek ways to improve the lives of children who are often marginalized in society.
In addition to working with Mathru, TechBridgeWorld may explore opportunities for this summer's work to have impact in India beyond Bangalore. Further information will be finalized in the coming weeks and described here.
Projects
This year’s iSTEP program will enroll two teams of four students each to work collaboratively on three key tasks: Needs Assessment, Iterative Technology Development, and Field Testing. These research endeavors will be focused in the area of assistive technology, but within the context of a developing community.
One intern team will be primarily tasked with creating a prototype technology that has been conceptualized by TechBridgeWorld, but not yet developed. This prototype will be a stand-alone version of the Braille Writing Tutor which has on-board computing, has three interfaces for braille learners at different levels, and is powered by AA batteries. This project will require significant software development for content creation, as well as hardware modifications based on user testing. In general, the iSTEP team will need to think innovatively and strategically in order to make this technology affordable and relevant to the Mathru community, and to enable the prototype to benefit from Internet access. Finally, this research team will be responsible for creatively disseminating findings from these research efforts as well as their experiences in the field.
The second iSTEP intern team will focus on conducting a thorough needs assessment at Mathru’s new disability center that caters to students with multiple disabilities. This team will seek to understand current methods for teaching employed at the school and brainstorm ideas on how technology may be employed to assist the teachers and students. This needs assessment will inform the prototype development for one of the iSTEP 2014 projects. Additionally, this team will conduct early testing for new concepts related to two existing technology prototypes developed by TechBridgeWorld, in order to determine whether they are a good fit for our community partner(s). The first early prototype is an educational tool designed to make graphics more accessible to the visually impaired. The second more advanced prototype will be an internet enabled version of the Braille Writing Tutor. Finally, this research team will be responsible for creatively disseminating findings from these research efforts as well as their experiences in the field.
In addition to working with Mathru, TechBridgeWorld may explore opportunities for this summer's work to have impact in India beyond Bangalore. Further information will be finalized in the coming weeks and described here.
Team Responsibilities
Given the specific iSTEP 2013 projects, we anticipate that the following skill sets will be valuable to the iSTEP team: software development, embedded programming, accessible interface design, electrical and mechanical hardware development, industrial design, game creation for blind players, user testing, field research, needs assessment, monitoring and evaluation, written and oral communication in English, technical writing, and social media content development.
While no candidate is expected to have strong skills in all of these areas, ideal candidates will specialize in one or more of these areas and have some cross-cutting skill sets. As in a "start-up" setting, all members of the team, regardless of their responsibilities, will need to participate in a variety of tasks to ensure the overall success of the team. The specific team responsibilities will be determined after the iSTEP 2013 team is selected. The work location for each team member will also be decided after the iSTEP 2013 team is selected. However, we aim to provide all students with experience in the field if deemed appropriate for the research efforts and logistically feasible. Each iSTEP intern will be assigned to a supervisor from the TechBridgeWorld team to whom they will be accountable during the internship.
Key criteria for success include:
- Being open-minded and eager to learn new skills and concepts that may be very different from what you have done in the past
- Willingness to work hard and respectfully in a team setting with minimal supervision, and be totally dedicated to the success of the team
- Ability to adapt to unforeseen and challenging situations, and to persevere towards team success despite these challenges
- Willingness and ability to learn new things quickly given the limited time frame of the internship
Logistics
Spring Preparation
Selected iSTEP 2013 interns will participate in 2 mandatory preparation sessions in the Spring 2013 semester (to be scheduled). Your performance in these sessions could impact your participation in the internship.
One preparation session will require selected iSTEP 2013 interns to complete a variety of paperwork in order to facilitate logistics associated with their participation in the program. During the spring semester we will work with CMU colleagues in a variety of departments to coordinate the completion of forms required from iSTEP interns related to logistics such as: payroll and applicable taxes, travel booking, emergency contact information, health insurance, intellectual property ownership, research compliance, etc. Another preparation session will serve as an introduction to your work tasks for the summer. Please feel free to contact us if you would like to know more specifics about these required forms before applying to the program.
TechBridgeWorld will be offering two mini-courses in the Spring 2013 semester that could significantly benefit iSTEP 2013 students in preparing for their summer research experience. Enrolling in these courses is optional, but strongly encouraged. These courses have no prerequisites, are open to undergraduate and graduate students from all departments (regardless of participation in iSTEP), and will be available at different meeting times (to be determined) at CMU’s Pittsburgh and Doha campuses. The first mini will feature the 6-unit course “Innovating for Underserved Communities: Field Research Basics” (course number 15-302 for undergraduates or 15-602 for graduate students). The second mini will feature the 6-unit course “Seminar on Innovating for Underserved Communities” (course number 15-303 for undergraduates or 15-603 for graduate students; open to graduate students and undergraduate juniors and seniors, or freshmen and sophomores with instructor permission).
Orientation and Training Session
Selected iSTEP 2013 interns will participate in a mandatory 1-week orientation and training session that will take place during the first week of the 10-week internship. This session will serve as the team’s preparation for the internship’s work tasks. Your performance in this session could impact your participation in the internship.
All interns are required to attend the session at CMU’s Pittsburgh campus, regardless of whether they are staying in Pittsburgh for the full internship or traveling to India. An exception will be made for any selected intern(s) from CMU’s Doha campus who are traveling to India for the internship. These intern(s) will connect remotely from CMU’s Doha campus for the 1-week orientation and training session before traveling to India. For intern(s) from CMU’s Doha campus who are traveling to Pittsburgh for the full internship, they will arrive in Pittsburgh in time to attend the session in person.
Please see “Overseas Travel Logistics” and “Accommodations and Local Transportation” below for more information on housing and transportation during the Orientation and Training Session.
Internship Salary
Each of the interns selected for the team will be paid a salary of US$3,000 (subject to any applicable taxes) for their participation with the program. This will be paid biweekly or monthly over the course of the summer through university payroll.
Overseas Travel Logistics
Air travel to and from India will be arranged and sponsored by Carnegie Mellon University. TechBridgeWorld will also process and pay for any required visas. The value of these travel costs provided to CMU students may be subject to applicable taxes.
Interns who travel to India must have a valid passport (we cannot pay for interns’ passport processing). Interns must pay for any required immunizations, vaccinations, and medications prior to their travel. Interns must also ensure they have health insurance to cover them overseas for the duration of the summer internship.
The internship typically begins in late May/early June and ends in late July/early August. The exact schedule is determined with local partners then confirmed with the selected iSTEP team. Travel scheduling will also relate to the orientation and training session. Intern(s) from CMU’s Pittsburgh campus who will travel to India will be in Pittsburgh for the 1st week of the internship, followed by travel to India, for the remaining 9 weeks of the internship. During the weeklong orientation and training session, intern(s) from CMU’s Doha campus who are selected to go to India will connect remotely for the orientation and training session, then proceed to India for the remaining 9 weeks of the internship. Intern(s) from CMU’s Doha campus who will be in Pittsburgh for the summer will come to Pittsburgh for the full 10 weeks including attending the orientation and training session in person.
Accommodations and Local Transportation
For interns traveling to India, local accommodations and transportation for work purposes will be pre-arranged and paid for by TechBridgeWorld and its partners.
iSTEP interns working at CMU’s Pittsburgh campus (either from the Pittsburgh or Doha campuses) for the full internship must make their own housing and transportation arrangements and are eligible for an additional US$1,000 (subject to any applicable taxes) paid with their internship salary to help them cover living expenses, if needed. During the weeklong orientation and training session, any students traveling to India will receive support up to an additional US$100 (subject to applicable taxes) paid with their internship salary to help cover their living expenses in Pittsburgh or Doha if needed. We must have proof of local housing arrangements, such as a letter from university housing or a signed contract with a landlord, by May 1, 2013 in order to provide this additional funding.
For intern(s) from CMU’s Doha campus who will connect remotely for the orientation and training session before traveling to India, we recognize it is not as easy to extend housing for an extra week. In such a case, we would work with Student Affairs at CMU-Q to come up with a solution.
Meals and Personal Expenses
Interns are expected to pay for their own meals and personal expenses. We suggest interns research in advance what they can expect in terms of local cost of living where they will be located for the summer so that they can budget accordingly (for example average cost for meals, personal expenses, entertainment, etc.).
If you have any questions on any of these details please feel free to contact us.