2019 Fall
INDENG 185 004 - SEM 004
Challenge Lab
Smart Villages
Gert R Christen
Class #:28805
Units: 4
Offered through
Industrial Engineering and Operations Research
Current Enrollment
Total Open Seats:
0
Enrolled:
Waitlisted:
Capacity:
Waitlist Max:
No Reserved Seats
Hours & Workload
4 hours of student-instructor coverage of course materials per week, and 8 hours of outside work hours per week.
Course Catalog Description
This course is meant for students in engineering and other disciplines who seek a challenging, interactive, team-based, and hands-on learning experience in entrepreneurship and technology. In this highly experiential course, students work in simulated start-up teams to create products or start-up ideas to address a broadly-defined need of an industry partner or social challenge.
Class Description
"**This course counts towards the Sutardja Certificate in Technology and Entrepreneurship. Additional information: https://scet.berkeley.edu/courses/ **
Helping to turn Indian villagers into entrepreneurs and creating business models that are scalable and sustainable. More than 6 billion people in the world are poor and most of them live in rural villages of India and China and are still very, very poor. Too many see no perspective other than migrate into the already crowded cities. There is, however, a way to a better life allowing them to stay in their villages: To empower them with digital technologies and platforms so that they can access global markets. To turn them into entrepreneurs and to turn their villages into Smart Villages. Pilot projects have proven that it works! This course will allow you, too, to work with the “Smart Villages Movement” team on the ground in India and with selected villages who have products to sell but are in need of a sustainable business model, appropriate technology, a workable supply chain and distribution partners in order to be successful. You and the team which you will be assigned to will work with one product in the areas of agriculture, healthcare, education, communication, energy, transportation, water & sanitation and safety & security. You will develop a launch ready solution to take your product to market, delivered through open business models, platforms and ecosystems and thru partners which you will identify and convince to join. Effectively you will create a validated business plan for the villagers to start selling their products. No travel to India is required but will be supported if you desire to do so. The government of the Indian state where our smart villages are located, is involved in this project and highly interested in the unique solutions that UC Berkeley students can create.
Rules & Requirements
Repeat Rules
Reserved Seats
Current Enrollment
No Reserved Seats
Textbooks & Materials
Associated Sections
None