Introduction

CTARA offers a sequence of Supervised Learning courses under the Technology and Development umbrella at the undergraduate level. These courses offer the students an opportunity to work on live projects, urban or rural, with the goal of contributing to the development of the bottom 80% of our country. The projects would involve direct interaction with the larger society and require formulation of solutions which could be in the form of policy recommendations, new products or studies. They offer an excellent opportunity to students who wish to apply themselves as engineers, social scientists or consultants in this exciting area of development.

A list of past topics offered by faculty from various departments is maintained at www.ctara.iitb.ac.in/topics.html. These are indicative, a new list will be updated soon. However, students are welcome to propose their own. The projects must follow the core CTARA values: a. Topic should address core interests of the bottom 80% b. The project should be in basic sectors such as food, energy, water, healthcare, public policy c. The project must have a deliverable output with concrete outside stakeholder who would be interested in the outcome of the project. These could be NGOs, govt. officials, elected representatives, or even citizen groups

Although all students will have an advisor to guide them, the Supervised Learning projects encourage students to work independently with little handholding. They provide a platform to students to apply their analytical and engineering skills to real life problems that cut across departmental boundaries and to gain other skills like project management, leadership, communication and presentation making that are difficult to gain in a classroom setting. All this, while creating knowledge for the direct benefit of the society.

Some examples of past work include a. Feasibility study of North Karjat pipeline system b. Study of biogas plants for communities c. Karjat town water supply & sanitation analysis d. Anjap Sugave multi village drinking water scheme analysis

e. Study of incentives by medical companies to retailers

Reports for some these www.cse.iitb.ac.in/~sohoni/pastTDSL/

studies

can

be

found

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These projects involved use of various engineering tools like GIS, simulations, data collection and analysis. Each of these required numerous field trips and meetings with stakeholders like village residents, gram panchayats, NGOs, municipal bodies, local hospitals, elected representatives, various government departments and officials. The final output has been presented to the stakeholders and various policy/decision makers and has been received very well. In many cases, concrete actions and interventions have been planned based on the output of the reports.

Please see www.ctara.iitb.ac.in/SL.html for more information.

Structure of the course

The courses offered are as follows: Course TD390 TD490 TD491 Name Supervised Learning-Study Supervised Learning-Analysis Supervised Learning-Design Credits 6 6 12

TD 390 is a study, i.e., a report of a field situation to people in IIT. TD 490 is an analysis in addition to the study and must be shared with the stakeholders. The outcome of the study must have content which is of interest to the stakeholders. TD 491 has a design component, i.e., a solution to a "development situation". Again, stakeholder participation is essential. All three courses require significant amount of field work.

The deliverables required for the project are i)an Objective and Methodology document at the beginning of the work, ii) the final report and iii) copy of the presentation. Grades will be based on these deliverables and the final

presentation. For TD 490 and TD 491, it is expected that the external stakeholders be invited for the final presentation.

For Students: How to apply: Courses are open to undergraduate students of all departments. In their third year and beyond. Since registration is limited, students will be selected by their demonstrated interest and preparation. Applicants must have sound academic record, excellent interdisciplinary skills and motivation.

If you are interested in applying for this course, please write an essay describing your motivation to take up this course and the topic(s) of interest to you. Alternatively, you may prepare a brief report and/or a presentation, either of a pet project or of your past experience, which demonstrates your interest. Please email this to a.b.rao@iitb.ac.in and pooja.lodha@gmail.com with the Subject: TDSL. Students registering for TD 490 and TD 491 must pass an interview with CTARA staff/faculty. If you are selected, please meet your guide to discuss the scope of your project. If you mutually agree to go ahead with the project, then you must fill the registration form at CTARA office. Please see Mr. Dineshan or Mr. Mudgal in the CTARA office (EE Annex Building, 2nd floor, x7870 or x7871) in this regard. CTARA will provide you with a moderate amount of funding (such as for travel/stay) and other infrastructure required for your project.

Faculty: How to offer a course:

Faculty members from all departments are invited to float Supervised Learning project topics under the Technology and Development umbrella. The mechanism is intended to enable faculty members to explore the development agenda and to try out various inter-disciplinary problems. CTARA staff and faculty will help in creating a framework for the project and to guide liaison, documentation and delivery. Project topics should satisfy three broad criteria: a. Topic should address core interests of the bottom 80% b. The project should be in basic sectors such as food, energy, water, healthcare, public policy c. The project must have a deliverable output with concrete outside stakeholder who would be interested in the outcome of the project. These

could be NGOs, govt. officials, elected representatives, or even citizen groups

CTARA will match student interests with topics and assist in the execution of the projects in all ways such as providing a framework for execution, reporting and evaluation, providing liaison with NGOs, govt. agencies, etc. and providing any logistical support. We welcome topics which faculty may wish to offer. If you are interested, please send the following information to Prof. Anand Rao (a.b.rao@iitb.ac.in) with a copy to pooja.lodha@gmail.com:

-Title -A brief description of the project -Objectives and deliverables -Stakeholders -Location/region (if any) -Collaborators within IIT (if any) -Links, papers or any other relevant information.

CTARA will compile these topics and upload them on a single webpage www.ctara.iitb.ac.in/topics.html. The current list of topics is also available on this link.

Students may approach you if they find your topic interesting. Please assess student interest and capacity carefully. If you mutually decide to go ahead with the project, then the students will need to fill a form with your inputs in order to complete registration for the course.

General guidelines for students and faculty 1. A 6-credit registration needs a minimum of 6-8 days of field work and 80 hrs of desk-work. A 12-credit registration needs double of the above amounts. If 2 or more students work together on a project, then the total number of hours expected to be put into the project would multiply by the same factor. Please ensure that the quantum of work is of this order.

2. The guide is expected to develop the methodology and provide the students with an outline of the final report for the project. 3. Initial contacts, references etc., must be provided by the guide. It is expected that initial stakeholder meetings would be moderated by the guide so that the student is placed on a correct footing. 4. It is recommended that the students set up a fixed weekly meeting time with their guide to discuss the progress of their work. 5. Students must submit an Objective and Methodology document within 4 weeks of the start of the project. This should be a 300-400 word write-up describing the project, location, deliverables, stakeholders, references and methodology. The expectation is that this will form the abstract or the introduction chapter of their final report. An example of such a document is at www.cse.iitb.ac.in/~karjat/mvs.doc. The write-up should be emailed to a.b.rao@iitb.ac.in and pooja.lodha@gmail.com with the subject "TDSL project write-up" and should reach them within 4 weeks of the start of the semester (a reminder email will be sent).

6. The final deliverable for all TDSL courses will be a presentation and a report. For TD 490 and TD 491, it is required that the external stakeholders be invited for the final presentation. A list of these stakeholders along with contact information must be submitted to the CTARA office before the final presentation. Grade will be allotted largely by the guide and may be moderated by CTARA course instructor to maintain a parity. Grades should be submitted to the instructor-in-charge (at CTARA) is reasonable time so that it may be moderated and transmitted to Academic Office. A day of TDSL presentations will be organized at a suitable day and is unconnected with the grading.

7. CTARA will help in devising and maintaining the above framework and provide a modicum of funding. CTARA will be happy to help in liaison, preparation of the above documents and formats, and to facilitate discussions.