Stanford University

In this course at the Stanford d.school, small interdisciplinary project teams work jointly with students from the University of Nairobi and local NGOs in Kenya to design new technologies for promoting development and health. Students have participated from a broad range of disciplines, including African Studies, Business, Anthropology, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Human Biology, Law, Management Science and Engineering, Microbiology and Immunology, Political Science, Science Technology and Society, and Symbolic Systems. The course is primarily for graduate and professional students.

Six of the students traveled with faculty to Nairobi over Spring break to do initial need finding with our partners:  

Mathare Youth Sports Association	Karura Youth Sports Association	Umande Trust	University of Nairobi
David Thiru	Henry Macharia	Josiah Omoto	Dan Orwa and Peter Waiganjo

They formed the nuclei of six teams which will collaborated with our partners throughout the quarter to conduct observations and interviews, identify needs, generate concepts, create prototypes, and test their use. The six projects are:

• Take the Credit - finding ways to make savings a simple regular default for users of mobile phones
• Virtual Safe Box - keeping a copy of important documents that can be lost or destroyed in catastrophes
• Ustadi Showcase - using a competition like "Top Barber" to promote local skill and business development
• Biocenter Loyalty - increasing the usage of biocenter sanitation facilities
• Mungano - emergency access to legal aid
• MobileSavings - using business information aids in promoting financial stability for small shopkeepers

At the end of the quarter, students will present their projects to a panel including partner representatives who come to Stanford to review the projects and identify possibilities for further development. During the summer, students from projects that are identified as having potential for further development and deployment will travel to Kenya to take the next steps towards further testing, pilot studies, and feasibility studies in preparation for long-term project implementation.

The starting point for the projects is to find innovative ways to use mobile applications in areas of health, education and economic development. Since we are strongly committed to the principles of human-centered design, we encourage teams to adapt their projects to meet needs they encounter as relevant to the people for whom they are designing. As a result, not all of the projects may end up using mobile technology, but all are deeply based on solutions to substantive problems.

In addition to the regular teaching team, students have been working with coaches from local industry and staff from the d.school