Having experienced the CRI learning environment, the students are eager to share the approaches and skills they have developed there. As many of them come from different countries, they are also keen to set up outreach programs to help local communities. “Many people from developing countries in Asia and Africa study abroad, which explains the brain drain. The the question is whether we can reverse the trend to gain brains”, asks Anirudh Krishnakumar. “At the same time, the idea of students from different disciplines and cultures learning from each other appealed to me”. This doctoral researcher and two master's students (Kishore Sivakumar and Imad Irzi) have conducted a program of five-month peer learning program with students from Chennai, India, A program of study focusing on research meta-skills and contemporary technical skills was developed. Seven CRI-inspired courses were organized, with local students creating research projects, games and wikipedia pages with schools concerned with mental health issues such as autism. According to Kishore, who took part in the aforementioned program, “the most interesting part of this enriching experience is the reflection on the fact that everyone is both teacher and student”.”
Like them, many other CRI members are involved in awareness-raising programs. Liubov Tupikina, mathematician and short-term fellow, works on the Lecturers without borders“ project ), which brings scientists from all over the world into high schools to share their knowledge and critical thinking skills. To date, the project has reached over 10 international schools in Nepal, India, Russia, France, Germany and Uruguay. “It's important to note that the aim is not to teach anything, but rather to arouse curiosity and strengthen links between scientists and high schools (universities) around the world.”. Last December, the project received a grant from the Botnar Foundation..
Together with master's and doctoral students Albin Salazar, Elizabeth Adjei and Nefeli Paparisteidi, former multimedia project manager Yves Ininahazwe created the’association“Home“which teaches practical skills on the site and brings new approaches to learning to students in Accra, Ghana, and Kigali, Rwanda. Another program was founded by CRI alumni Kishore Sivakumar, Nidhi Patel and Naina Goel: the “Learning 4 Sustainability Club” has organized workshops in Bali, Indonesia, and will launch a spring school in Patna, India, to reduce educational inequalities and enable students to be active members of social action. AIRE alumnus Shazzad Hossain Mukit has launched “CareerKi”, a career development platform for young people and a talent matching solution for employers in Bangladesh.
“Our call to action to support and nurture student-led projects was encouraged and supported by CRI researchers Dr. Ariel Lindner, Dr. Amodsen Chotia, Dr. Sophie Pene, Dr. Liliana Baquero and the AIRE masters team.“adds Anirudh. Together with Felix Schoeller, a former research associate, he is working on awareness programs: “Student-led research and citizen science projects as part of summer schools and challenges have already been running for many years. This year, we're offering CRI students the opportunity to intern in groups, working on projects to solve the SDGs, as part of the curriculum, during the summer months. We are developing MindLogger, a toolbox for student projects, to enable them to easily create their own applications and collect/visualize/analyze data. Finally, we are also creating a support system that will enable students to share with local communities the research and education activities carried out by CRI in different cities.
Open Research and Education Centers (CORE) are currently being launched by CRI students and alumni in Chennai, Dhaka and Accra. In addition to strengthening the link between migrant students and their home countries, these programs contribute to making education more accessible and open all over the world.
