INKtalks

INK goes to Jain University

Apr 29th, 2012 Leave a comment

Nikhil Velpanur on stage at Jain University

INK presented five speakers – Nikhil Velpanur, Karthik Naralasetty, Sachin Kukke, Sarath Champati and Charles Ma at Jain International Global Campus on the 20th April, 2012. The atmosphere of the session was exhilarating as students were mesmerized by the quality of talks presented to them.

The session started off with TED Fellow Nikhil Velpanur who set the mood on an all time high. He spoke about the journey he took which ultimately paved the way to his new project – Approves.it! His enthusiasm and ideas motivated the students and got them thinking about innovation and breaking the rules. Our second speaker was a young entrepreneur, Karthik Naralasetty, a dropout from Rutgers University. In 2011, he set up a project aimed at connecting people with thalassemia, a genetic blood disease, with potential blood donors through a social platform called Social Blood Org. Students were amazed by his work and applauded him for his efforts and humility to help others in need.

Our third speaker was Sachin Kukke, the winner of YouTube’s 2012 Space Lab contest for the Asia Pacific region. Sachin explained how he won this competition and told the audience what it was like to spend time at NASA and experience zero gravity. Being only a first year student from BMSCE, the crowd was very impressed with his achievements at such a young age.

Towards the middle of the session, INK took a break from speakers to give students from Jain University an opportunity to share their ideas. INK recognized three students who won a competition called Triggering Thoughts, and two students actually got on stage and presented their ideas. One student advocated creating a conceptual digital database for degradation solutions for soil contaminated by pesticides. The other student wanted to create an online database to connect students looking for sponsorship for their education to potential sponsors.

The fourth speaker was Sarath Champati, a wildlife photographer. Sarath presented his talk with the great passion. He pitched his profession in a very picturesque manner and was undoubtedly a crowd favorite. Our final speaker was Bharatanatyam dancer Charles Ma. Charles was extremely enthusiastic and upbeat, connecting well with the audience and wowing the crowd with his new Bharatanatyam piece. His advice to follow your passion left a great impact on the audience.

The University was delighted to have us and the response to this event was overwhelming. At the end of the session, we asked students to leave comments on a speaker board that was just outside the auditorium. From reading the comments one could tell that the speakers did leave an impact on the students and INK had given the students an opportunity to be inspired!

By Meghna Ashok, INK intern

April 30, 2012

Fellows Insights: Quality of Thought by Dina Buchbinder Auron

Apr 23rd, 2012 2 Comments

Dina Buchbinder Auron speaking at INK2011

Have you ever thought about the concept, “quality of thought”? For a long time now, I have been thinking about this concept. I think sometimes we are so used to complaining about all kinds of problems and challenges we face. The thing is, there is so much to do that we cannot afford to spend time complaining. It is right to be worried, but only so long as you do something about your worries.

When I was immersed in the INK experience I was able to confirm that these unique four days allows people to have the highest quality of thought. I was thinking that every person has the potential to be a hero; every person has amazing, breathtaking, inspiring stories to tell. If you ask me, having a better/higher quality of thought is one of the unevident things that would change this world.

This is what I felt at INK, a call to action through inspiration and admiration from the people attending this wonderful space that is filled with “anonymous heroes” from all over the world, willing to share and learn non-stop during four very nurturing days. At INK our “quality of thought” rises significantly because, instead of complaining, you are invited directly and indirectly to “change your chip”, to find another frame of reference that allows you to connect your thought to other actions that can actually contribute significantly from wherever you are. INK takes you to a state of mind where you can’t stay still waiting for something to happen. It touches the deepest fiber within each individual that is present. I could dare to state that everyone left there “not leaving” in the sense that today, four months after INK happened, our “quality of thought” has improved…

Dina immersed in conversation at INK2011

This marked not only my mind but also my soul. This resonates with me because it is what I do in life: teach children how to be better citizens, with better quality of thought that makes them change makers from those ages (6-12). I do this through Deport-es para Compartir (Sports for Sharing), an educational and civic program to teach children that they, along with all their potential, can have the best quality of thought. We translate the concept as thinking and acting upon the greater good.

Let me elaborate how. Children by nature love to laugh, play, interact and discover through their own language: games and sporting activities. Today we have inspired 45,000 children from diverse backgrounds in Mexico. My team and I dream of inspiring all children in Mexico and the world. We have observed that during and after Deport-es para Compartir (Sports for Sharing) children not only have a higher quality of thought and actions, but they also transmit this to their teachers, parents and all of their communities. In each DpC session children travel using their imagination (the power of the journey) to different, fascinating far away countries and identify similarities and new interesting facts to learn and appreciate cultural differences.

Children are all the hope we need in this world. Because of their potential, and if we give them the right tools in a meaningful way, they can develop the highest quality of thought and therefore invest time, effort, energy and passion into making this a better world for everyone from today.

We are currently working to systematize Deport-es para Compartir in order to share it with many countries and multiply the “quality of thought effect”…

Thank you INK for inviting people to have better quality of thought!!

By Dina Buchbinder Auron

INK Fellow and Director of Deport-es para Compartir

April 23, 2012

Why INK?

Apr 3rd, 2012 1 Comment

Why do I work at INK?

As a non-Indian, this is actually a pretty relevant question. I have no Indian relatives by marriage, and before starting work at INK, I’d never even visited the country. As the only blonde-haired and freckled member of the INK team, when I tell people I work for an Indian company, the usual response I get is some joke about reverse outsourcing.

When I think about why I work for INK, I dream big. I dream globally. I think about the role of INK and the future of this company in the next five years. INK is by and for India, and INK’s thought-leaders are India’s global face to the world. I see INK as the trend predictor of India’s future, a pre-release sneak preview, if you will, that we’re lucky enough to see today.

INK is the rural innovator, talking about a homegrown innovation that transformed a village. INK is the business leader, offering insights on India’s position relative to a global product line. INK is the young artist, spinning an entirely unique mélange of culture old and new to create a provocative statement about a nation’s identity. And INK is the seasoned veteran, looking back on a lifetime of lessons learned and prospecting on the state of future change.

So I was thinking about all these things when crafting a new mission statement for the company, and how all of them brew together to form our unique identity. And here is what I came up with:

How does the future unfold, and what drives it? At INK we know that tomorrow is shaped today by visionary men and women. That’s why we are committed to capturing and sharing the best breakthrough ideas, inspiring stories and surprising perspectives. Watch INKtalks and meet the people who are designing the future–now.

INK is forward-looking, using intimate narratives by thought-leaders to understand the future direction we’re all headed. By sharing great ideas, stories and perspectives, in a format that’s quick, easy and enjoyable to understand, INK is enabling everyone—anywhere—to drink from the fountain of knowledge.

By Nina Gannes, INK Head Writer

April 3, 2012