Spark India 2017 | Social Impact Lab | University of Southampton

This year was the first Mumbai based programme with challenge based education, regular workshops and mentorship. Fellows worked with 3 partners to meet diverse social needs. In partnership with Dharavi Diary, the fellows helped to empower girls in Asia’s biggest slum through the power of coding. Their task was to trial the use of the Blupoint device to allow for the upload and download of apps away from the Learning Centre, and introduce the concepts of design thinking to 30-40 students. With SafeCity, the fellows were tasked with designing an implementation plan for the launch of the SafeCity Southampton app, assess the SafeCity website and design additional features for a global user base. Finally, fellows worked closely with Atma, an organisation providing support for education focused social ventures. Their mission was to gather feedback from users of the Atma Network platform, and identify causes of low engagement. Additionally, they provided specific recommendations for improvement to the network platform with an implementation plan.

Spark India has been one of the most life changing experiences to date. Not only have I developed new skills, but I've also developed new attributes and values, that I will continue to wear on my sleeves on a daily basis.I have no doubt that everything I've gained from this programme will continue to shape me as an individual, and push me to always do and be my best in every situation. My confidence has increased, alongside my drive and determination. This has truly been inspirational and I am excited for what's to come.