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This term, MIT D-Lab scholars developed prototype answers to assist agriculturalists in Afghanistan, individuals residing in informal neighborhoods in Argentina, and rural poultry cultivators in Cameroon. The initiatives cross continents and together aim to enhance the lives of thousands — all rooted in two enduring MIT D-Lab courses.
For nearly 20 years, 2.651 / EC.711 (Introduction to Energy in Global Development) and 2.652 / EC.712 (Applications of Energy in Global Development) have connected students with global organizations and communities to engage in D-Lab’s participatory design method and explore energy technologies in resource-limited settings. Hundreds of scholars from various MIT departments have participated in these classes, which include visits from collaborators and trips to the communities post-semester. Participants often uncover a lifelong passion for aiding individuals in resource-constrained environments.
“Through the excursions, learners typically gain a recognition for what they possess at home and cannot overlook what they have witnessed,” remarks D-Lab educator Josh Maldonado ’23, who attended both classes as a student. “For me, it transformed my entire career. Scholars maintain ties with the individuals they collaborate with. They stay engaged in group chats with community members and reconnect when they travel. They return wanting to mentor for the course. You can clearly see it leaves a lasting impression.”
The introductory course occurs each spring, accompanied by summer excursions for students. The applications class, which focuses more on particular projects, is conducted in the fall and followed by student travel during winter break.
“MIT has consistently promoted going out and making a difference in the world,” Maldonado states. “The ability to apply what we study here in such a significant way while still a student is fantastic. It resonates with MIT’s motto, ‘mens et manus’ (‘mind and hand’).”
Education for impact
Introduction to Energy in Global Development has been offered since around 2008, with prior projects concentrating on alleviating the impacts of aquatic weeds for fishermen in Ghana, producing charcoal for cookstoves in Uganda, and developing brick evaporative coolers to prolong the freshness of fruits and vegetables in Mali.
The course adheres to MIT D-Lab’s participatory design principles, where students devise solutions in close partnership with local communities. Throughout the process, students learn about various energy technologies and how they might be affordably applied in rural communities lacking fundamental infrastructure.
“In product design, the goal is to reach out and engage with your customer in their environment,” Maldonado clarifies. “The challenge is our collaborators are frequently in isolated, resource-limited parts of the world. We place significant importance on designing alongside local communities and enhancing their creative capacities to demonstrate they can develop solutions independently.”
Students from across MIT, including graduate and undergraduate levels, as well as scholars from Harvard University and Wellesley College, can enroll in both courses. MIT senior Kanokwan Tungkitkancharoen participated in the introductory class this spring.
“There are participants from chemistry, computer science, civil engineering, policy, and more,” remarks Tungkitkancharoen. “I believe that this convergence illustrates how things are accomplished in reality. The class also educated me on how to communicate identical information in various ways to accommodate different audiences. It refined my approach to understanding what this person is attempting to learn and how I can convey that effectively.”
Tungkitkancharoen’s group collaborated with a nonprofit named Weatherizers Without Borders to apply weatherization techniques that improve living conditions and environmental sturdiness for individuals in the southern Argentinian locale of Bariloche.
The team constructed model homes and utilized heat-sensing cameras to demonstrate the influence of weatherization methods to locals and decision-makers in the area.
“Our collaborators inhabit self-constructed dwellings, but the area is renowned for its very cold winters and extremely hot summers,” Tungkitkancharoen states. “We’re assisting our partners in retrofitting homes so they can better withstand the climate. Prior to the semester, I was eager to work directly with individuals affected by these technologies and the existing climate issues. D-Lab enabled me to connect with people on the ground, and I am incredibly thankful to our community partners.”
The initiative to design micro-irrigation systems to bolster agricultural productivity and water conservation in Afghanistan is in conjunction with the Ecology and Conservation Organization of Afghanistan and a local university team.
“I enjoy the process of entering the class with a practical question that needs resolution and collaborating closely with community partners,” says MIT master’s student Khadija Ghanizada, who has acted as a teacher’s assistant for both the introductory and applications courses. “All these initiatives will have a significant impact, but being from Afghanistan, I understand this will change lives because it’s a landlocked nation, grappling with droughts, and 80 percent of our economy is reliant on agriculture. We also ensure students contemplate the scalability of their solutions, whether globally or just nationally. Each initiative carries its own narrative of impact.”
Engaging with community partners
With the spring semester concluded, numerous students from the introductory class will journey to the regions they researched alongside instructors and local guides during the summer.
“The travel and implementation are aspects students consistently look forward to,” Maldonado expresses. “Students conduct substantial preparatory work, considering the necessary tools, local resources, and collaborating with partners to secure those resources.”
Post-travel, students compile a report detailing their experiences, which aids D-Lab in refining the course for the upcoming semester.
“Often, instructors are also conducting research in these regions while teaching the class,” Maldonado notes. “Being taught by individuals who were just in the field two weeks prior, and seeing images of their work, is immensely impactful.”
Students who have completed the class have pursued careers in international development, nonprofits, and founded enterprises that amplify the impact of their class projects. However, the most immediate benefits can be observed in the communities that students collaborate with.
“These solutions should ideally be constructed locally, sourced nearby, and potentially lead to the establishment of localized markets centered around the technology,” Maldonado remarks. “Almost everything the D-Lab engages in is open-sourced, so when we visit these communities, we not only instruct individuals on how to utilize these solutions, we also teach them how to create them. Technology, when implemented thoughtfully by considerate engineers and scientists, can be widely embraced and can foster a community of creators, fabricators, and local enterprises.”
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