over 8 years ago
Introducing the Social Coaches for the hack
Dear Opportunity Hackers
We are glad to let you know we will have 2 esteemed coaches who have deep experience in Social Innnovation, Entrepreneurship and Non-Profit management. They will be available on Saturday to help guide the ideas and make them more solid !
Sriram Ayer
Sriram is the founder and CEO of NalandaWay Foundation.Personal experiences during the 2002 Gujarat riots, motivated him to set up NalandaWay. Sriram believes in using the power of the arts to change the way education is perceived and delivered to children from low-income groups in India. He was elected an Ashoka Fellow in 2006 and ranked among the ‘Top 50 Social Entrepreneurs in India’ by Outlook magazine. He received the "South Asia Development Marketplace Award" by the World Bank and is also the recipient of the ‘Architect of the Future’ Award by Waldzell Institute in Vienna.
Joseph Thomas
Joseph currently holds the following positions Project Consultant at Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship(CSIE), Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM), Vice President, Development Office, International and Alumni Relations, IITM , Director of Impact, Innovation & Technology, Chilasa Venture Philanthropy, Member, Project Advisory Committee, Universities and Councils Network on Innovation for Inclusive Development in Southeast Asia, Ateneo School of Government, Manila
He is an engineer from IITM with 30 years experience in rural technology, including sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and more recently social innovation and entrepreneurship. He has had experience within Research, Not for Profit, Inspection/ Certification and Business organisations in India, South and South East Asia. At CSIE Joseph has been mentoring innovative social enterprise start-ups and entrepreneurial teams. He is also responsible for commissioning and undertaking research into social entrepreneurship and assists with the minor Course on Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship at IITM. He is active in promoting and replicating the vibrant innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem at IITM to other institutions of higher learning. His initial research work in appropriate technology was with the Shri AMM Murugappa Chettiar Research Centre. He worked with two IITM start-ups, n-Logue Communications Private Limited and Midas Communications Private Limited. He did a 16 month stint at the Byrraju Foundation before joining Villgro Innovations Foundation based in Chennai, (a Venture Capital incubator for rural entrepreneurs) as their Chief Technology Officer. Joseph served as a member of the Core Advisory Group on Sustainable Agriculture within the United Nations Global Compact in 2013.