September edition
Note from the Chair
I was happy to see so many of you this month in Seattle, Washington, at the IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference. The four-day event packed in dozens of presentations, including research and project updates by SIGHT volunteers. Please see the video below of the session that I led to introduce our work.

And read on for news about SIGHTs around the world. As always, thank you for all that you do!

Kartik Kulkarni, Chair, IEEE SIGHT Steering Committee
SIGHT Now Offers Individual Membership
SIGHT recently launched the individual membership program and encourages each of you to formally join SIGHT if you have not already.

This is a free membership for both IEEE members and non-members.

The hope is to provide a platform for all IEEE members who have an idea to create social impact by leveraging technology. This new membership process is a way of sharing lessons learned to improve the good work that everyone does.

SIGHT now has 305 members in 40 countries. Momentum is building!
Find SIGHT Membership Resources at the Online SIGHT Toolkit

Learn about the new requirements of SIGHT membership and find resources to help accomplish your goals with the online SIGHT Toolkit.  
Tweeters around the world are using #IEEESIGHT to tag their SIGHT updates. Use the tag at conferences, during field work or any time you tweet about SIGHT. And search the tag on Twitter for updates from your colleagues around the world.
Coming Soon: SIGHT's Annual Report
Please look for SIGHT's annual report in your inbox soon. It will be attached to an email by Michael Wehrman of IEEE.
Connect With Us
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Connect Tunisia: Update on SIGHT's effort to put Tunisian schools online

IEEE student chapter leaders in Tunisia and members of the IEEE's Internet Initiative are working to establish Internet connections to elementary schools in the North African country's underserved regions.

Two members of the Tunisia SIGHT team presented their project in early October at IEEE's Internet Inclusion: Advancing Solutions workshop in Washington, D.C., USA. Like its predecessor event in April, Global Connect Stakeholders: Advancing Solutions, the workshop discussed technical and regulatory options for connecting the next billion, with a focus on exploring real-world solutions.
Announcing First-Ever Techathon for Hygiene Awareness Through LEDs
For 36 hours in December, participants in the LED Indirajalam Techathon will fashion LED clusters into signs and designs that promote hygiene and cleanliness.

The IEEE Madras Section SIGHT is hosting the event to support the work of the Swatch Bharath Campaign, a national effort to clean up trash and promote cleanliness in India.

"This Techathon could very well be the first of its kind and is poised to break many records," the event's organizers said in a statement.

When: December 28-29
Where: Annai Vailankanni College of Engineering, Nagercoil, Kanyakumari District, India
Details, questions and registration (note that the dates in this newsletter are correct as of publication)
Help build the landmine hunters of the future at the Humanitarian Robotics and Automation Technology Challenge
Landmines left over as a legacy from past conflicts kill 15,000 - 20,000 people every year. Clearing the mines has proven to be dangerous and expensive, making it a suitable challenge for automated tools. Your help may be needed to develop the minesweepers of the future.

The IEEE Robotics & Automation Society's Special Interest Group on Humanitarian Technology (RAS-SIGHT) invites everyone to participate in the fourth Humanitarian Robotics and Automation Technology Challenge (HRATC) at the 2017 International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA'17).

Entry Deadline: Nov. 15, 2016
Acceptance Notifications: Dec. 01, 2016
Challenge at ICRA'17: May 29-30, 2017

Please find details at the link.
Hot Off the Press: The New Edition of Humanitarian Engineering as a Free Download    
The third edition of Humanitarian Engineering: Advancing Technology for Sustainable Development is newly released and available as a free download.

Dr. Kevin Passino, IEEE Humanitarian Activities Committee Chair and Director of the Humanitarian Engineering Center at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, USA, has written the text book as a guide to meeting what he calls the "greatest challenge of our era," ending poverty.

"This book examines the role of engineering in humanity's quest to meet this challenge," Passino says in a statement.

"Development strategies for improving the human condition covered here include approaches from development economics, health, education, and business. Engineering for sustainable community development provides an approach for engineers to work with people to identify needs and resources, develop technology solutions, and assess impact," Passino says.

New kitchen and electronics lessons in Toba Qom, Paraguay
A family has a new kitchen with a brick stove and school children have learned to use Arduino microcontrollers and LEDs thanks to a SIGHT project in the Toba Qom community in Paraguay.

The HAC Education Subcommittee conducted a training session, which laid the foundation for a new SIGHT that formed in Paraguay.

IEEE members and volunteers from the new SIGHT and the United States and Nicaragua joined Students from Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, USA, to work in the community. In seven two-hour sessions, students in Toba Qom made model blinking traffic lights and walk buttons. And the visiting volunteers designed and built a kitchen with walls, roof and a brick stove.

For more about the work and the ongoing program offered to students at OSU, please see the university's page on humanitarian engineering short courses.   
SIGHT at the Global Humanitarian Technology Conference
Video by Glenn McKnight

Kartik Kulkarni, Chair of SIGHt's Steering Committee, presented SIGHT's work at the IEEE Global Humanitarian Conference in Seattle this month.
SIGHT Newsletter Submissions
Share news about your events, innovations and successes with the worldwide SIGHT community. Submit announcements or story ideas by the first of each month for a chance to see it in the next month's edition.

Guidelines: 
  • 150 words or less
  • Please include photos! (with captions) and links
  • Newsworthy initiatives are those that are self-sustainable, not based
    on charity, and that solve a humanitarian problem with technology
  • CSR initiatives could be also part of our newsletter
Please send correspondence to Rob Goodier at r.goodier@ieee.org. Thank you!