Presentation Abstract

The field of ICTD (information and communication technologies for development) focuses on technology innovation that addresses the needs of people in developing communities. Field research is an essential part of ICTD work, which the TechBridgeWorld research group focuses on by identifying community's needs in order to develop relevant technology solutions.

In summer 2009, TechBridgeWorld launched the iSTEP (innovative Student Technology ExPerience) internship program. iSTEP provides Carnegie Mellon students with the opportunity to conduct ICTD research and develop needs-based technology solutions in collaboration with a partner in a developing community.

This year’s location was Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and our community partner was the University Computing Centre. During the 10 week internship, the iSTEP 2009 team worked closely with three communities in Tanzania to develop the following solutions: (1) Information exchange protocol for para-social workers to report and receive information about AIDS orphans and vulnerable children via SMS on mobile phones; (2) Culturally-relevant educational technology game for enhancing children’s English literacy; and (3) Swahili-functional Braille Writing Tutor for visually-impaired students.

Come learn about the technology solutions developed and our students’ experiences during the 10-week internship. Click here for more details about the iSTEP program.

Speaker Bios

Hatem Alismail graduated from Carnegie Mellon University’s Doha, Qatar campus with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and a minor in Mathematics in May of 2009. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree at Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Institute. Hatem was the iSTEP 2009 team’s Technical Lead for the Literacy Tools project. He was stationed in Dar es Salaam and took the lead on all technical development and testing for the project.

Beatrice Dias is currently a Ph.D. student in the Engineering and Public Policy Department at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. She earned her undergraduate degree from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York with concentrations in Mathematics and Physics. Beatrice was the iSTEP 2009 team leader and Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator based in Dar es Salaam. She also worked on needs assessment and evaluation for all three projects and assisted with necessary field testing.

Anthony Velázquez is a senior pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Anthony was the iSTEP 2009 team’s Technical Floater stationed in Pittsburgh, with the primary role of assisting the three technical leads with technology development for the three projects as needed.