TGLife
The Cognitive Neuroscience Lab of BITS Pilani, KK Birla Goa Campus recently organised the 2nd workshop on ‘Open Innovation in Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) for People with Disabilities (PWD)’ and an Interdisciplinary Design Hackathon at its campus.
The Hackathon and workshop were organised in collaboration with the Leeds Business School of University of Leeds and was sponsored by Leeds Social Sciences Institute and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), United Kingdom.
After successfully doing the first workshop on Open Innovation in CBR in September 2018, the second workshop focused on the progress in the field since then. Different members presented and discussed their progress in the field. Plan of action for the future was also designed with an aim to meet for the third iteration of the workshop by the end of the year. The workshop was moderated by Dr Samit Chakrabarty and Dr Tabish Zaman from the University of Leeds.
The Design Thinking Hackathon was targeted at presenting the participants with real problems and asking them to come with a solution using Design Thinking. Dr Emilee Simmons from the University of Leeds organised the Hackathon to 32 participants. The problems were designed by the workshop members with each group having a mentor to elaborate on the problem and discuss solutions. In addition, dedicated mentors were also present to help the participants in implementing the design thinking approach in creating the solution.
Mohan Sundaram, the founding ceo and director of Artilab, the first Innovative Disability Focused Incubator participated in the workshop and was a mentor for the participants. He provided valuable inputs to both the members of the workshop and the participants at the Hackathon.
Ira Singhal who is the topper of the UPSC Civil Services Exam for the year 2014 was also present at the workshop and Hackathon. Currently serving as the deputy commissioner at the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, she discussed different initiatives the government was taking to help rehabilitate people with disabilities into the normal workforce. She shared her perspective on the problems faced in India with the Hackathon participants which was important to create a more relevant and implementable solution to the problem.
Prof Veeky Baths of the Cognitive Neuroscience Lab introduced and demonstrated electric wheelchair movement using the signals produced in the brain. He also thanked all the participants and workshop members for their dedication towards the cause of rehabilitation for people with disabilities.
