Ten Southampton students have returned home after taking part in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as part of the Spark India Fellowship Programme in Mumbai.
The programme was launched in 2014 by the Social Impact Lab at the University, with the aim to help our students gather insights into social entrepreneurship and find out what it takes to become world-class social impact leaders.
After school football match between Dharavi Diary school children and University of Southampton students
Between 30 July – 20 August 2017, students worked on real-life business challenges set by three of India’s most innovative social enterprises; Dharavi Diary, SafeCity and Atma. As well as being given intensive training and mentoring, the students explored India’s social enterprise sector through visits to ecosystems players such as Acumen and heard insights from leading social entrepreneurs.
Four students worked with Dharavi Diary:
- Joseph Rowland (second year BA Geography student)
- Feba Kollanoor (third year Civil Engineering student)
- Ayodapo Salako (first year Accounting & Finance student)
- Amy Guduza (first year Social Policy and Sociology student).
The goal of the social enterprise is educating girls in Dharavi – Asia’s biggest compound slum area. The students took a BluPoint hub with them – an innovative device created by a University of Southampton spin-out – which generates a portable network, enabling users to access life-changing information and services without an internet connection. The students taught design thinking tools to the girls, helping them create solutions to the social issues they encounter in their immediate environment.
Jack Covey, fourth year MEnvSci Environmental Science student, commented about his experience of the programme:
“The Spark India programme was a truly transformative learning experience. Not only was I able to create a tangible positive impact to a great NGO, but I also made some amazing friends and memories. I would fully encourage anyone from any background with any level of experience to apply – you won’t regret it!”
Spark India supports our University mission of changing the world for the better, and has increased our international reputation in the social impact field.
If you’re interested in finding out more about the Social Impact Lab please visit: southampton.likn.co/silab
