07.23.07
MOT Fellows Focus on Improving Healthcare in the Developing World

This summer four interdisciplinary teams of UC Berkeley students are traveling to developing nations on field assignments to apply their technology innovations as part of the Bridging the Divide Fellowship Program.

The 2007 fellowship projects focus on improving healthcare practices and living conditions. Students traveled to Peru to develop a financially viable model for deploying micro-hydro and solar technologies in remote areas. A second team is currently working to identify best practices for introducing infant circumcision into local healthcare systems in Swaziland.

Another group will soon depart to Kenya to determine the feasibility of using of a disposable micro-needle device to administer vaccinations. At the end of the summer, students will visit India to assess the viability of using white light-emitting diodes to bring electric lighting to the nearly 500 million people in the country.

Bridging the Divide is a four-year-old program run by UC Berkeley's Management of Technology Program (MOT), a joint graduate program of the Haas School, the College of Engineering, and the School of Information. The program's purpose is two-fold: elicit best practices in technology-related sustainable development and provide students with an opportunity to explore, in-depth, business and technology issues facing developing nations.

Students submitted project proposals in fall 2006 for the opportunity to test their technologies in developing countries. After completing the summer field assignments, students will return to the classroom this fall to compile results.

For more information about Bridging the Divide, visit http://bridge.berkeley.edu.