Arrival in Arusha
My name is David Hines. I have just arrived in Arusha, Tanzania to participate in the International Development Design Summit (IDDS) organized by MIT and USAID. As a participant, I will spend 5-weeks working on a cross-disciplinary, cross-cultural team. Through a process of user observations, idea generation, and prototype development and refinement, my team will work with a local community to co-create a low-cost technological solution to an agriculture or energy challenge. The summit will culminate in final product presentation at the Arusha regional agricultural fair on August 9, 2014.
I first learned of IDDS through a serendipitous interaction with a student at Olin College of Engineering. I later learned that another Babson student had participated in the past. Rayshawn Whitford ’12 inspired me to apply and accept the offer from IDDS. I feel very fortunate to be a part of such a talented and diverse group of participants.
I am participating as a rising undergraduate senior expected to graduate in May 2015. My degree is a Bachelor in Science of Business Administration with a concentration in Technology, Entrepreneurship, and Design. At Babson, I am a Resident Assistant, member of the Honors Program, and an active actor, singer, and dancer in musical theatre productions of the Babson Players. I recently spent my junior year as an exchange student at Ecole des Haute Etudes Commerciales Paris (HEC Paris). For their generous grants, I extend my profound gratitude to the Olin College of Engineering International Development Scholar Program and the Babson College Center of Career Development Internship Sponsorship Program.
Post written July 7, 2014. Pictured top left: myself and Giovanni, an IDDS participant from El Salvador who guided my high school’s trip to El Salvador only weeks earlier; top right and bottom: photos of the Arusha Vocational Education Training Authority (VETA) our campus for the next 33 days.
