ON THE GROUND
Although we are also focusing on the product side of things, it is just as important to consider the larger community and the product's impact.
OVERVIEW
User feedback from visits to the Premanjali foundation and MitraJyothi emphasized the importance of understanding diverse needs and incorporating human involvement with technology. The initiative aims to secure incubation and establish partnerships for pilot testing and mentorship. Initial feedback had inspired a redevelopment of the product, which was largely successful in controlled testing environments. Moving forward, more rounds of user feedback during the pilot phase and a public beta would allow the product to gain more traction and have a greater impact on society, soon allowing for widespread manufacturing and distribution.
WHAT HAPPENED
This intitative, although it began in 2021, underwent a major shift in mission and purpose in 2022. This entailed a transition from a technological approach to a solution to a more holistic, empathy-driven approach (as we could interact with the end users). Especially as it was towards the end of the pandemic, it became easier to contact and get in touch for user feedback.
The first round of user feedback occured through a community-service experience at a nearby foundation for visually impaired students, in the city of Bangalore. Here, we interacted with numerous target users and tried to understand their needs. After doing so, we also collected feedback on our planned prototype. The second round of feedback occured at another foundation (which we visited independently), where, based on numerous visits, we were able to understand, firsthand, what a varied set of users in the target market (varying perspectives on the same issue) thought of the project, as well as a glimpse of their individual needs.
Aside from the project, we are also looking to help work with these schools and foundations to create an immersive experience for visually impaired students. We have gotten in touch with numerous schools where we could potentially organise events and showcases, as well as provide mentorship. Unlike teaching content, this would allow us to imbue values that could extend and apply for a much longer duration, while also possibly sparking a drive for future projects.
And while this occured, we also tried to establish this initiative as a viable business; we’re in touch with numerous experienced mentors and have also secured startup pre-incubation by Runway. This could potentially lead to a full-scale incubation of the venture. Over the long term, this can also ensure that this is profitable, allowing positive impacts to be made on a much larger scale.
Overall, we were (and are continuing to) better understand the needs of our users, while providing solutions through a combination of human involvement and exponential technologies.
COMMUNITY SERVICE AND EMPATHY
ACTION PLAN
Innovation (particularly technology) and empathy are key aspects of our involvement and cornerstones of the intitiative. Besides using it to understand our users, empathy allows us to provide long-term solutions and maintain the human aspects of this. Additionally, it allows us to understand that the needs for each user may be vastly different and allows us to provide solutions through human involvement and technology. Innovation, on the other hand, is strived for in the technology used in the product and the approach taken with the technology and its creation.
At this point, there are various ways this can be taken forward. Firstly, from the startup aspect, we would like to secure incubation by Runway (or an alternative program), by 2024. Besides this, we would also like to begin to work alongside an institution (preferably a school) to both organise for a pilot run of testing, as well as organise the mentorship and showcase, for the aforementioned long-term human involvement.
FEEDBACK
Two main groups of beneficiaries were interviewed for feedback. These were college students between the age of 18 and 24 and adults. The latter claimed that this product would be extremely beneficial in their daily lives, provided the experience was made efficient and seamless while allowing for a multitude of features (such as money and object recognition, as well as guidance). The latter group further explained that similar products might already exist and that using this would be familiar to most users. However, if this product were to provide a more affordable and seamless experience, they claimed it would be extremely beneficial.
PERSONAL REFLECTION
This experience was extremely transformative for me, as a person. I learnt a lot about my values, as well as the concepts of empathy, giving, and community service. This allowed me to reflect further on my experiences.
After each major interaction and experience, beginning with the visit to the Premanjali foundation (explained in more detail later), I reflected on the experience and how I could incorporate my learnings into my life, as well as how they tie in to my values and personality. I made notes of most of the reflections. Besides this, I also reflected independently on my own time, for brief moments of time, allowing me to better understand the bigger picture.
Visiting the Premanjali foundation: Although the project had already existed at this point, this was the aforementioned major turning point in the goal and mission of the initiative. This was a community service visit to the Premanjali foundation for the visually impaired, in Bangalore. Upon visiting, I was able to interact with the students (I also collected some user feedback). Overall, by interacting with them, They have immense drive and passion for what they do, amongst a wide range of topics and interests. They were almostly endlessly optimistic, but remained grounded through their values (I got a glimpse of this), which were varied, while sharing a common thread. This has also been an incredible learning experience for me (in the process, the students at Premanjali even taught me Kannada!).
Visiting MitraJyothi (twice): As a part of the initiative, I independently visited the MitraJyothi foundation for the visually impaired. There, I was able to interact with some of the volunteers, as well as the founder, Ms. Madhu Singhal. I could observe, firsthand, community service on a large scale and how, one person with a higher purpose and vision was able to make such a major change to society, how past experiences could shape major moments in the future. This moment further allowed me to realise (or rather, reinforce my realisation of) the importance of a higher purpose and vision, grounded by empathy, values, and dedication.
This impacts me in numerous ways. Besides being an altogether transformative aspect of this initiative (allows me to reinvent myself, my values, and what matters to me), it also allows me to better serve my purpose, while working towards my higher purpose and vision. Through interactions with organizations like the Premanjali foundation and MitraJyothi, I have discovered the power of a higher purpose and witnessed the immense impact it can have on individuals and society. These experiences have inspired me to reinvent myself and align my actions with my values. I can attempt to maintain this in the future, while remaining grounded through empathy and dedication.