Why did I enroll in this course?
Above all else, I am interested in participating in this course as a means to have an impact towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. I believe that achieving the Sustainable Development Goals is the greatest challenge faced by mankind. As such, efforts across all sectors, communities and countries are needed to effectively create a sustainable future for all. I am passionate about helping to reduce environmental impacts while also working to improve quality of life and community resilience and programs such as this directly align with this passion.
In my work to date, I have had the opportunity to engage in a wide variety of local, national, and international projects related to sustainability, resilience, climate, energy, and development. I enrolled in this course in order to expand upon these experiences and enhance my understanding of topics pertaining to sustainable development and social impact around the world. Achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals offer us the best possibility for ensuring a livable, equitable future for all people. However, achieving these goals will also be the greatest challenge humans have faced and will require dedicated, innovative action across all sectors and disciplines in every country around the world. The Sustainable Development Goals can only be accomplished through cooperative processes. By enrolling in this course, I am excited to work with and learn from other students and professionals who have a passion for social impact and collectively make progress towards achieving the SDGs.
How do I envision this course making me a better engineering student?
When I think about a career and a life that are fulfilling, I strive for the ability to directly see the positive impact that results from my actions. While I have very much enjoyed my past experiences, I hope to learn about how to craft a career focused more directly on social impact and international development. I am currently enrolled in Lehigh’s Masters of Engineering, Energy Systems Engineering program in order to learn more about the nexus of climate change, sustainable development, and energy system around the world and hone my technical and analytical skills. Through this course and the GSIF program, I hope to build upon these skills and better understand the interconnection of various systems around the world and how to deeply understand the way in which these systems operate. I also hope to learn how to translate the lessons learned through engineering in order to have real world, positive impacts.
With an undergraduate degree in environmental engineering and being currently enrolled in the masters of engineering program, I often find myself working most closely with other engineers. However, I have a wide range of interests and always appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with people of varying backgrounds and expertise. There are a wide range of topics that will be addressed throughout this course that may fall outside of the ‘traditional’ engineering discipline. Additionally, the other students and faculty that are a part of this course represent broad, diverse backgrounds and areas of study. I believe that interdisciplinary collaboration helps to improve all participants. By learning from, and working with, students from different colleges I believe that I can become a better engineering student and have a more wholistic approach when asked to tackle engineering challenges. The ability to tackle new projects, work in diverse settings and across interdisciplinary teams, and constructively address challenges as they arise are skill that I would hope to continue to develop through this course and the GSIF project. I strongly believe that skills such as these will have immeasurable benefit over the course or both my personal and professional life.
What solution can be proposed to provide eyeglasses to the more than one billion people that don’t have access to them?
According to the World Health Organization and The Centre for Vision in the Developing World at Oxford University, more the one billion people around the world require but do not have access to eyeglasses(Karnani). Uncorrected visual impairments have wide reaching health, economic, safety, and educational impacts.
Many startups and non-profits have been created to try to address the lack of access to corrective eye ware but have largely been ineffective on a global scale. MIT has created high tech, rapid eye exam that can quickly perform an in-depth eye exam and provide a lens prescription in a matter of second. However, cost and access to the technology are difficult barriers to overcome in developing countries. Another startup, developed adjustable lenses that can adapt as an individual’s vision changes, providing a longer lifespan for a single pair of glasses. These glasses have been slow to take off due to the aesthetics of the glasses (Karnani). These projects and similar solutions to the problem of eye ware access have so far been ineffective for a number of reasons, including that they often don’t address some of the underlying issues.
One of the underlying issues is a lack of knowledge pertaining to vision testing and the availability of corrective lenses. People in rural areas of developing countries are often the people with the least access to corrective lenses. Recent studies have shown that a large percentage of people in these areas don’t believe they need glasses, are unaware of the availability of affordable glasses, and can not afford the cost of the doctor visits related to obtaining a pair of glasses (Karnani). To successfully address the need for eyeglasses around the world, these underlying issues must also be addressed.
There are at home, low tech, eye exams that can help to provide reasonable estimation for the type of glasses needed without the cost and time needed to visit an optometrist. Utilizing existing networks to educate people on these low-tech eye exams can be a first step in helping determine the need for corrective lenses and educating individuals about vision and corrective lenses.
After better understanding the need, the problem can more effectively be addressed. One of the most significant impacts of poor vision is on children’s education. Partnering with schools to provide glasses to children can help as an early intervention that will improve the child’s ability to learn and assist them even after leaving school. Another important area of impact is within the workforce. Productivity of workers improves significantly when they are provided eye glasses. The increase in productivity greatly outweighs the costs of the glasses. Partnering with employers to reduce the cost of eye glasses for their employees can help improve the employers’ bottom line while also providing a benefit to the employees.
There are many individuals that are independent workers, unemployed, or who operate outside of the more transitional workforce. Hopefully, as corrective lenses become more common place, the understanding of specific needs improve, and education related to vision is more readily available, the demand for glasses will likely increase. Increased demand for glasses can also help provide economies of scale to lower the cost of eye glasses for these individuals. Additionally, as peoples’ needs change, recycling old glasses rather than disposing of them can help more individuals have access to corrective lenses.
Citation:
Karnani , Aneel. “Better Vision for the Poor (SSIR).” Stanford Social Innovation Review: Informing and Inspiring Leaders of Social Change, 2014, ssir.org/articles/entry/better_vision_for_the_poor.