21st September
I participate in the orientation program for the e-Yantra students of IITB. While in the program, I had an enriching conversation with an RTA Action Group student team on the meaty question: “Is India a superpower?”
22nd September
I accompanied on field visit of Teams 1 and 6. Team 1 visited custard apple farmer Raju Mama, who grows maize, onions, and soybeans. Team 6 visited another farmer who grows Jamun (black plum). In the latter part of the evening, the teams gave their problem analyses as follows:
- Weeding in open-field farming
- Fungal infection in custard apple
- Height management of Jamun plants
23rd September
On the second field day, the teams conducted an intensive analysis on the open-field production of Raja Mama. Teams 1 and 6 generated highly specified queries on how they weeded. Interestingly enough, I spotted three students highly interested in the issue of onion storage issues, the same area of expertise as mine. I discussed my findings and insights with them.
24th September
It was followed by an insightful presentation on ideation by Dixit Sir. He stressed the point of considering 5–6 possible solutions at first before finalizing on just one, so as to achieve an articulated product design process.
25th September
It was the last day for the product design presentation. Each team made its product design presentation for innovative solutions to certain problems. For me, my teammates’ presentation on the onion storage product was particularly inspiring as it reinforced my interest in parameter choice for my ongoing project.
Conclusion:
From the orientation to the final presentation, it was astonishing to encapsulate the
