Saturday, December 29, 2012

Namaste Delhi!

Months of preparation, 24 hours of air travel, a short walk through customs, and the CSE India winter course has begun! An interdisciplinary group of 15 UMN-Twin Cities students (CSE, HHH, CFANS) and civil engineering professor Julian Marshall arrived safely in Delhi, India December 29 on a crisp, foggy evening. After snapping a quick picture (below), we headed straight for a taste of Indian chai tea and veg snacks at our guest house. Even after a long trip and jetlag, the students are beaming with excitement as they look forward to the next three weeks of discovery.


Months of preparation, 24 hours of air travel, a short walk through customs, and the CSE India winter course has begun! An interdisciplinary group of 15 UMN-Twin Cities students (CSE, HHH, CFANS) and civil engineering professor Julian Marshall arrived safely in Delhi, India December 29 on a crisp, foggy evening.

After snapping a quick picture (below), we headed straight for a taste of Indian chai tea and veg snacks at our guest house. Even after a long trip and jetlag, the students are beaming with excitement as they look forward to the next three weeks of discovery.

Delhi Arrival

Here is a taste of what's to come:

  • Touring Delhi's historic sites around Old Delhi
  • Visiting Agra and the Taj Mahal for New Year's Eve
  • Rural development workshop in Madhya Pradesh learning about rural water and energy issues
  • Two-day slum development workshop and community visits with micro Home Solutions
  • Discussions with Delhi's Development Authority and IIT-Delhi on urban planning and infrastructure development
  • Visits to Delhi's wastewater treatment and community-managed water projects
  • Social entrepreneurship workshop with Niiti Consulting, a sustainable development marketing consultant
  • Learning about integrated transportation planning
  • Visiting Delhi's landfill, recycling facility, and waste to energy facility
  • Solid waste management art gallery event
  • Guest talks from Delhi's social entrepreneurs, ranging from a taxi cab service for women, driven by women, a rural solar panel servicing venture, and a rural water technology enterprise
  • Field visit with the Chair of India's Green Building Council to one of India's fancy greenest hotels, and more.


It's going to be fun! More to come soon from the students.

--
Brian Bell
Acara Program Manager