Overview
Technology Consulting in the Global Community (TCinGC) is a collaborative partnership between Carnegie Mellon students and faculty and governmental and non-governmental organizations throughout the world.

A select group of Carnegie Mellon students travel abroad each summer to enhance their own technical, management, and communication skills and developing locally sustainable uses for information and communications technology.

If you are a Carnegie Mellon student, please consider applying. We are next accepting applications for Summer 2009. The applications deadline will be in December 2008.

If you are a leader in a government ministry, non-governmental organization or non-profit organization, we are always looking for new partners. We are currently confirming partners for Summer 2009. If you are interested please contact us immediately.

If you would like to support our development efforts or partner with us in any other way, then please contact us.

Program Background

TCinGC is built on several years of experience working with non-profit organizations in the Pittsburgh region around Carnegie Mellon University. At the local level, a university course entitled Technology Consulting in the Community teaches students consulting skills while providing high-quality, capacity-building assistance to leaders in nonprofit organizations. By working together, student consultants and their community partners identify, plan, and implement ways in which technology can help the non-profit fulfill its mission. The program has partnered student consultants with leaders in over 200 local organizations.

In the summer of 2004, we piloted TCinGC, sending student consultants experienced in working locally to a partnership with the Ministries of Education and Health in the Cook Islands. In the summer of 2005, this program expanded to additional projects in the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, and Sri Lanka. For summer 2006 we developed new partnerships in Chile, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, and Sri Lanka. In summer 2007 we worked with new departments in the Republic of Palau and with a non-profit organization in India. In summer 2008 we are working again in Palau and India and for the first time through this program in Ghana. We have already received interest from new organizations for summer 2009.

Current Student Consultants

This summer there are 8 students participating with the TCinGC program through the following partnerships: Ashesi University in Accra, Ghana; Mathru School for the Blind and Microsoft Research India in Bangalore, India; Ministry of Health in Koror, Palau.

Click here to learn about our current student consultants.

Sample Project Outcomes

Example outcomes from past summer projects include:

  • Planned and installed a computer network, troubleshot computing infrastructure, installed a Microsoft Exchange server, and trained hospital staff on e-mail, office applications, and network resources with the Bureau of Kwajalein Atoll Health Care Services in Ebeye, Marshall Islands.
  • Developed a database to manage welfare beneficiary information with the Cook Islands Ministry of Internal Affairs.
  • Created computer curricula geared to Sri Lankan children whose families were impacted by the 2004 tsunami.
  • Wrote a business plan with the Centro Informatico, Universidad Austral de Chile to provide technology consulting services to their region.
  • Helped staff of the Children’s Resource Center in Sri Lanka to create an English-language brochure and web site to support fundraising.
  • Implemented an open-source course management system with the Cook Islands Ministry of Education.
  • Created a web site with the Cook Islands Ministry of Health to communicate public health information.
  • Developed databases to support the administration of nine ancillary service departments in the Palau Ministry of Health.
  • Helped the Palau Ministry of Education adapt an open-source web-based student information system for use in managing student data in all of their elementary schools.
  • Re-engineered the national immigration database with the Cook Islands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration.

Consulting Reports

Other Articles