Summary
The Tata Center for Technology and Design (https://tatacenter.mit.edu), part of the MIT Energy Initiative, was founded in 2012 to find new ways of using science and technology to bring the benefits of modernity to resource-constrained communities in the developing world, particularly those in India.[1]
The Center seeks applications to support MIT graduate students via endowed Tata fellowships for work on projects aimed at developing appropriate, practical solutions for resource-constrained communities, working closely with on-the-ground collaborators. Preference will be given to proposals with direct community impact and stakeholder engagement in India.
Scope
The vision of the Center is that the blending of sophisticated technology, innovative design, and practical business models can help to meet the needs of resource-constrained communities, particularly in India. Constraints may be viewed as factors that deny many people access to life-improving technologies because they are packaged into products or systems that may be too costly or unsuited for use in resource-constrained environments in other ways, such as scale, performance specifications, dependence on unavailable infrastructure, or reliance on inputs such as energy, materials, or highly skilled labor, or because they simply conflict with societal norms. We encourage a broad interpretation of technological constraints, in which the objective is not necessarily to minimize cost, but rather to maximize access to beneficial products and services.
Successful projects will use technology and/or business models creatively to overcome constraints and thereby create opportunity and support quality of life improvements at all levels of society in India and other parts of the world where poverty and competition for limited resources limit economic growth and opportunity. Projects addressing energy, agriculture, health, housing, water, and environment are of interest, though other areas will also be considered.
Stakeholder engagement and collaboration
To ensure connection with “on the ground” challenges, the proposed work is expected to include substantial engagement with stakeholders and collaborators in the concerned location(s). Applications that leverage existing collaborations or have already identified and engaged with potential new collaborators in India will be given preference. Proposers who are interested in engaging with stakeholders and collaborators on the ground may find it helpful to collaborate with or leverage other MIT programs such as D-Lab, GEAR Center, J-PAL, J-WAFS, Morningside Academy, MISTI, the Tata-MIT Alliance, or the Tata Center at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. Finally, the students (Tata Fellows) are required to integrate travel into their project plans to facilitate interactions with stakeholders, understand on-the-ground challenges, and strengthen collaborations.
Funding available
Up to 3 new awards will be made in 2025.
Each award will support an MIT graduate student (Tata Fellow) for 1 year starting in the Fall semester. The award will cover stipend and tuition for the Tata Fellow at prevailing departmental rates. A 10k maximum allowance is available to cover the student life fee, single-student health insurance, and project-related travel and research expenses.
Eligibility and requirements
Applications must be submitted by MIT students with a supervising PI, i.e., primary research advisor. Collaborative applications with more than one PI or advisor are welcome. The fellowship award will be contingent on satisfactory progress towards their academic degree. Should the fellow change their degree program or their primary research advisor (and such change is approved by the fellow’s Department), the fellowship is portable and will move with the student within MIT and a new primary research advisor will be named.
All MIT graduate students in good academic standing are eligible, including current and past Tata Fellows.
The Tata Fellows are required to submit a 5-page final report (excluding figures, tables, and references) detailing the progress made, stakeholder and community engagement, key findings and outcomes, any challenges or new opportunities, impact, next steps, and personal reflections, within one month of conclusion of their fellowship support. In addition, Tata Fellows will be required to abide by MIT policies pertaining to travel, particularly submitting India Travel Reports in a timely manner.
It is expected that the award will be used within one year. With reasonable justification, awards may be deferred for up to one year.
Application details
The application has the following components:
- 3-page application (following the template available here)
- Student CV and unofficial transcript
- Letters of collaboration (optional)
All of the above materials should be submitted as a single pdf document at this link with the filename studentlastname-tataproposal25.pdf. Pdf files can be merged using Acrobat in the Adobe Creative Cloud, which is available via the MIT Software Grid: https://ist.mit.edu/software-hardware.
Part II – To be submitted by the advisor (PI):
The student’s advisor (PI) should submit a letter of recommendation for the student that also states how the advisor will mentor the student, guide the proposed research, and provide any additional resources (e.g., lab facilities, additional funds for travel or research, introductions to collaborators, access to data, inclusion or integration of the student into a broader research team, etc.) that may be helpful or necessary for the student to effectively perform the proposed research. The letter should be submitted as a pdf file named “studentlastname_recommendation.pdf” by email to TataCenter@mit.edu with subject line “Letter of recommendation for studentlastname”.
Key dates
RFA Released: Week of April 14, 2025
Applications due: Monday, May 12, 2025
Award decisions: June, 2025 (tentative)
For more information
Email to TataCenter@mit.edu
[1] The Tata Center is not a part of the Tata-MIT Alliance.