Grand Challenges Impact Lab

January 6, 2024

I am not a morning person

gcil

I am not a morning person. Four, eight, ten hours of sleep – it doesn’t matter. I still wake up tired. On top of that, after nearly a week of sleep deficit upon sleep deficit, the sweet embrace of sleep is all I can think of come evening time. So, you can imagine my dread…


The Small Details

gcil

Since the first day we arrived in Bangalore, one of the first things I have noticed is how the people we have met are not only willing, but excited to help us. I saw this the first couple of days in small ways; for example during our first activity, the scavenger hunt, a stranger approached…


January 5, 2024

Fortunate Son

gcil

“Far better ideas than those you or I have had have failed, and no one is crying about it.” If I had to boil it down to one sentence, these are the words I would take away at the end of the day. These are the words of Arun Cherian, founder of Rise Bionics. This…


Tired and Inspired: A Day of Discovery

gcil

My morning begins by rushing up to the rooftop to FaceTime my family back home. I miss my partner, whose presence I’ve grown used to having each night. Luckily, early mornings grant me the opportunity to chat about the previous day and express my excitement for the day ahead. After a breakfast of yummy “papas”…


January 4, 2024

Beginnings

gcil

How do I begin? It’s a question I keep asking myself. It’s a question I asked myself at 3 AM as I poured buckets of cold water on myself in the shower. A question I ask as I stare at the blank faces of my classmates lackadaisically chewing their first breakfast in the dining hall….


The Joys of Unfamiliarity

gcil

Truthfully, during our orientation day, I have been trying to keep a brave face, a face of courage, as every time I cross the street, I keep a stiff arm so far out away from me that I want to believe that it is as sturdy as the concrete made out of these homes we…


January 3, 2024

2024 Student Blog

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In Winter quarter 2024, 20 students embarked on a journey to Bangalore, India to discover new cultures, people, and experiences while learning about and developing solutions for challenges such as clean water, health, waste management, and education. This blog recounts their adventures, reflections, and learnings.


March 12, 2023

2023 Student Blog

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In Winter quarter 2023, 10 students traveled to Bangalore India to contribute ideas and solutions for issues of food security, clean water and climate change and also to write blog posts about their experiences. Get a sense of their journeys through these blogs.


March 10, 2023

Final Thoughts

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Night Street

The series of blog post finales began over a week ago, with all of you, my great classmates, sharing your final words about our time here in India. I loved all these posts. How nice it was to hear you summarize these weeks that seem to defy a summary in my head. Of course, at…


March 9, 2023

Last Blog

gcil

I’m running out of interesting ways to open a blog. Maybe it’s just me but openers seem to spread like wildfire in a group that reads to each other each morning. I probably should have consulted with my favorite blog writer here, Jack, to get some tips. Eh, let’s see what we can do. As…


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