DTU Connects Academia and Industry Through 3rd Distinguished Speaker Series Lecture

DTU hosted the 3rd lecture of its Distinguished Speaker Series (DSS), featuring Prof. Arvind Singhal, a distinguished alumnus, visionary thinker, and renowned author.

The Delhi Technical University (DTU) hosted the 3rd lecture of its Distinguished Speaker Series (DSS), aimed at enriching the university's academic environment by connecting students, faculty, and the broader community with visionary thought leaders, industry pioneers, and global innovators. The lecture featured Prof. Arvind Singhal, a distinguished alumnus, renowned professor, visionary thinker, and accomplished author. Prof. Singhal specializes in research and teaching on topics such as the diffusion of innovations, the positive deviance approach, organizing for social change, entertainment-education strategies, and liberating interactional structures.

Dr. Arvind began his talk by sharing how his journey diverged from his peers, transitioning from a technical field to the social sciences. He highlighted the contrast between the technological world, which emphasizes precision, prediction, and control, and his passion for exploring uncertainty and unpredictability. This led him to seek solutions to complex social problems. Drawing inspiration from President Abraham Lincoln and Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Arvind emphasized their humility and sensitivity in engaging with ordinary people. He tied this perspective to the concept of Positive Deviance, a method for addressing complex social issues using both technical and non-technical solutions.

Dr. Arvind explained that the core of the Positive Deviance approach is asking relevant questions whose answers are already known, allowing solutions to be found without relying on experts. He illustrated this with the example of Vietnam's success in reducing child malnutrition from 1990 to 1997 by addressing a previously unasked question. He also shared other examples, including HIV/AIDS, teenage pregnancy, and hospital-acquired infections, where this approach was applied. He emphasized the importance of balancing the technical aspects of a problem with the sensitivity needed to address it effectively.

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