The Lumen Project – Bringing Light to Life

TISB Alumni from the batch of 2021, Aditya Deshpande, recently carried out the electrical engineering project ‘Lumen’ with 70 students from the organisation Building Blocks India. The project was funded and supported by TISB, and aimed at inspiring and encouraging underprivileged students by teaching them basics in electrical engineering. This was done through videos and workshops where the students produced a solar powered USB charger and flashlight. We contacted Aditya to hear more about the project and its results. 

It is evident that in some of the students the knowledge gained will be retained – Aditya Deshpande, TISB Alumni 2021 

Students from socio-economically challenged communities rarely have opportunity to explore and learn areas of electrical engineering. This does not only hamper their development of knowledge and skills, but also their interest to further exploring the field of electrical engineering – hindering their future studies and career options, as well as their chance to break out of poverty. Moreover, many young people living in precarious living conditions lack constant power supply, limited access to light, abruptions to study and learning time. 

That is why Aditya came up with the idea of a DIY-kit, which when built produces a fully functional USB power bank that can be charged by solar panels that are part of the design. “The kit has 2200mAh of battery storage which is suitable for charging phones and tablets”, explains Aditya, whose design also includes a LED light which allows for reading after 1-2 charging in the sun. Planning to carry out the workshops with 70 students from different Building Blocks India after-school sites, was made possible by 40,000 INR funding from TISB’s Charity Committee. It meant ordering and assembling material, delivering them to the workshop sites, producing three instructional videos, and an initial briefing with coordinators from the organisation who would physically oversee the students. 

Having to adapt to limited possibilities to moving around and gathering, Aditya replanned and shifted online. During the online sessions, the enthusiasm among the students was very visible. “It was clear that the students were excited to try out the new science project and, hopefully, that enthusiasm has translated into a desire for learning more about engineering and sustainability”, says Aditya, and explains that many students understood all the steps and comfortably answered questions regarding different circuitry components. “A lot of the students displayed immense problem solving and team work skills. Those who finished a step early, began working with the coordinator to help the others and troubleshoot issues with their circuit.” 

Due to delays all around the world, the project was completed and reported just a couple of days before Aditya flew off to the Imperial College London to study Electrical and Electronics Engineering. Aditya now hopes that some of the most interested, knowledgeable and skillful of the students will carry on their learnings by continuing to explore electrical engineering, and teach others how to put together a solar powered USB charger on their own.