Dear students
This note is to announce the next, i.e., 2011 Summer and Autumn offering of Supervised Learning courses under the Technology and Development (CTARA) umbrella at the undergraduate level. The courses are designed to enable students to do live projects, urban or rural, within the development agenda. These would involve direct interaction and interface with the larger society and formulation of solutions which could be new gadgets or protocols or studies. It would help students who wish to participate as engineers, social scientists, consultants, and so on, in this exciting area of development.
An example of such work was the summer internship work of Mr. Abhishek Sinha and Mr. Vikram Vijay, 4th year Civil Engg. DD students who did a basic feasibility study for a pipeline system for drinking water for North Karjat (see link. ). This involved various engineering studies, GIS, simulations and an interaction with the numerous stake-holders such as residents of individual hamlets, NGOs, elected representatives and various government departments and officials. The final report was was presented to the MLA, tehsildar and various gram-panchayats.
The course offered are as follows:
| Course | Name | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| TD390 | Supervised Learning-Study | 6 |
| TD490 | Supervised Learning-Analysis | 6 |
| TD491 | Supervised Learning-Design | 12 |
All courses will involve a guide to which the student will report. The methodology to be followed will depend on the specific problem. The TD 390/TD 490 will largely involve gathering of data, field work, study and analysis. TD 491 will also involve elements of design and implementation. See link for a quick presentation on the motivation and operational details for the program. All three courses will require an Objectives and Methodology document at the beginning of the work, and a final report and presentation. See an example here. Grades will be based on these documents, the deliverables and the final presentation.
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. Students are advised to prepare a brief report and a presentation, either of a pet project, or of past experience, or an essay outlining their motivation to do such a course. Email the above to sohoni@cse.iitb.ac.in with the Subject: TDSL. If selected, we will find a suitable guide and make available a moderate amount of funding and other infrastructure. The projects must follow the core CTARA values: of (i) deliverable output (or close to it), (ii) core sectors of food, water, governance, energy, livelihoods, health, and (iii) issues of the bottom 80%.
Possible topics could be (some of them already have students):
Let me know if you have any questions.
Regards,
Milind Sohoni
Head, CTARA