I am currently in India teaching design at Indian School of Business. One of the reasons that I keep coming back here is the students. They are smart, driven, often technological sophisticated and passionate about their work. Each day, I have several students visiting my office pitching their ideas, seeking advice. Today, I met one student who wants to change the way public education is done in India. He was a former fellow for Teach for India, a kind of an Indian version of “Teach for America”. He knew exactly what were broken in the system and had a great idea to work with. Another student I met today wanted to build a map of civic complaints for the entire India. Given how the government here operates, he did not believe that Indian government would do a system like 3-1-1, which is quite successful in many American cities. Instead, he would like to have a mobile app that would allow people to post problems in public infrastructure or government services. He wants to do it, not to report those to the government, but to collect and build a map to visualize those complaints. The map will show the intensity and diversity of the problems in public service in different parts of India. Brilliant! He believes that this might trigger a change in Indian government, out of shame.
I love this! I love this type of interactions with sharp, driven, and creative students who want to do something meaningful with their lives. I am glad to be help them and inspire them in any way I can. It is a blessing!
