The UN adopted 17 targets for sustainable growth in 2015. This call to action commencement motivated all UN members to participate in the cause of delivering prosperity along with saving the planet. Similarly, we have pledged to build a prosperous society and have begun our initiatives to achieve our goals. Student-centric growth is also our priority. A curriculum devoted to helping the world and the environment focuses on creating a positive ethic and enkindling learners to promote a sustainable community.
Sustainable development has become a part of our lives. We are continuously focusing on introducing a better way of living. We know how mother earth is suffering for our fault. And soon, our planet can no longer be able to provide the resources for living beings. We are aware of the facts that the mother earth is dying. So, it is high time to act and take steps to save the planet with sustainability.
‘Lokahita’ is a program for MBA students in which they collaborate on different social development projects for social groups seeking to accomplish Sustainable Development Goals. This curriculum runs under the banner of Society for Social Impact (CSI), a wider project for community engagement through Cambridge Institutions. Our projects are mainly focusing on six SDGs goals set by the UN. There is a strong focus to develop critical professional skills by providing opportunities to apply classroom learning in a practical setting. We also challenge student’s emotional intelligence through various activities during projects.
What is the infrastructure of the programme?
On September 30th, 2019, the ‘Lokahita’ program started with a grand celebration. We don’t compromise on education, so our programs are scheduled on Saturdays only for the 1st and 2nd semester MBA students. We concentrate on three primary contexts while planning the program calendars. They are as follows;
- On-premise cause sensitizations and workshops
- On-field group volunteering programs
- On-field live social impact projects with NGOs and Social Enterprises working to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- Students in teams are assigned to different projects with NGOs and they work on projects every Saturday from 9:30 AM to 1:00 PM
With the collaboration of LetsTagOn, we are fostering socially responsible youth and nature changemaker.
How is CSI programme beneficial for your MBA?
Cambridge Institute of technology, itself a great example of a Zero-Waste campus. Every student on campus takes small steps towards saving the earth from global climate change with other concern as well. Not only does the “Lokahita” concentrate on developing socially responsible personal skills, but also on building good analytical and administrative skills. For MBA students, the ‘Lokahita’ brings
major advantages for learning the skill of management. Here are some primary lessons for MBA students which are mainly focusing on enhancing the skills through the ‘Lokahita’ program, Although 'Lokahita' is primarily structured to concentrate on the improvement of the skills of MBA students, CSI is the bigger approach that our Cambridge Community encompasses.
What are the major programmes that motivated students’ perspective?
We have worked with many associates for the cause of sustainable development. Some of our notable projects where students improved their capability and learnt life-changing lessons are as follows,
- Creating memory books for elders from Dignity Foundation.
- Enable kids in academic areas and extra-curricular activities. Nearly 175 children were engaged during the study session.
- Cleanliness campaign and revamp of school premises through painting.
- Tree protection drive near Hebbal Flyover
- Profiling government school children for career counselling
- Door to door E-Waste awareness drive and PloggingRun. Street play for an awareness campaign for the hearing impaired
How did our "Lokahitha" curriculum motivate our students?
These projects made a major impact on students’ lives. Through our services, we collected data. More than 76% of students rate the program greater than 4 out of 5. More than 85% of students would explore volunteering opportunities beyond this program. Here are some data:
- More than 85% of students would explore volunteering opportunities beyond this program
- Close to 85% of the students recommend this program for the upcoming batch
We have also some student’s written feedback on CSI,
How has Coronavirus Epidemic and Lockdown been influenced by CSI projects?
We believe social work should not have any time limit or and boundaries. Even lockdown didn’t stop us. With the help of the virtual platforms, we continued our social work. It was impossible to conduct any field project due to the coronavirus outbreak. However, we took advantage of the virtual medium and pursued our social projects through virtual connections.
- Social entrepreneurship sessions focused on social entrepreneurial tales, the lean canvas module on cost and income models, the ID Foods concept review and all the lean canvas modules through listening to Mr Mustafa’s voice.
- Students worked on preparing worksheets for the 7th std Government schools kids.
- Students participated in an awareness drive on the outbreak of the coronavirus. They came up with awareness videos which were posted on social media to raise awareness on Covid 19
- Students took up this task of interacting with the senior members of Dignity Foundation, an NGO working for the welfare of the elderly and created a memory book for them
In our quest for saving planet, who are our fellow warriors?
About 25 projects have been performed all year long. For the leading cause, 80 students voluntarily participated and we collaborated with 20 NGOs. Along with our students, LetsTagOn played a key role. The effort we’ve taken is for everybody. It is our responsibility, as long as we live on earth, to defend it. In the journey to make a social change, an hour of commitment from our students and faculty members made them our fellow warrior.
How does our ‘Lokahitha’ project impact our community?
We are in a culture that is very inspiring and encouraging. In the context of the involvement of local communities and non – profit organisations, we are enthusiastic about such a proactive approach. Our program has influenced not only the life of our students but also our community has also given us positive reviews
Click here to learn more about the Lokahitha Projects