Technology Salon

If you had 90 seconds to answer a question you did not know the answer to, what would you do? Admit to the gap in your knowledge? Take a guess at the answer? Or Google the answer on your phone? The majority of people would opt for the later. Technology has not only changed the…

At the Technology Salon on Rural Power Solutions for the Developing World, Eric Youngren of Solar Nexus International started us off with the basics, and I learned about the difference between power and energy: Power is the instantaneous creation and use of electricity – what is needed right now to power an electronic device, and…

Last week I had the privilege to participate in the Humanitarian Technology ChallengeTechnology Partnership with the Vodafone Foundation.

Mark Summer of Inveneo

Over two days, IEEE members were encouraged to develop and implement technological responses to three humanitarian challenges in developing countries:

1. Reliable Electricity: Availability of power for electronic devices
2. Data Connectivity of Rural District Health Offices: Capability of exchanging data among remote field offices and central health facilities
3. Patient ID Tied to Health Records: Maintain consistent patient records, including when patients visit different clinics and when they relocate

Working with them were representatives of 10 humanitarian organizations, and the brainstorming sessions where technology and development experts came together to devise solutions made the conference feel like a large-scale Technology Salon.