Forum Notes

November 12, 2008

Team forum and brainstorming on knowledge transfer and integrating new students

Knowledge Transfer

New Students

• Assign mentors (from any team) as a question person for new members
• Evaluation that past wiki pages are actually read
• Online wiki orientation tutorial with quizzes
• Better documentation to aid future members
• More basic introductory information (i.e. glossary)
• Smaller training sessions for new members
• Newcomer orientation w demo plant and slideshow of processes
• Lateral knowledge transfer between teams
• Team updates on any major breakthroughs at beginning of class
• Monthly short (3-5 minute) update on projects to entire class
• Weekly updates from half of teams, with each team going every other week
• Class/speakers on Monday, half updates on Wednesdays (short class period)
• Ensure an understanding of goals for team each semester
  Open house for research tours at the beginning of the semester

AguaClara Credits

• 1 credit technical writing course to add to CEE 2550 for technical writing option
• Offer CEE4550 course as by permission of instructor with CEE 4540 or CEE 3310

Forums

• End of semester check in to see how these changes have worked out

From the March 12 forum

AguaClara ForumH3.

Larry Harrington and Alice Pell visit

• Meeting notes
• How much should Cornell stay tied to AguaClara?
  • How much control should we keep, how much power and freedom should go to partner institutions
  • Could lose lab space and alumni connections
• What other NGOs and groups should we pair with?
  • Religious focus of CRS and other faith-funded charities is tricky
• Expansion into Ethiopia?
  • Cornell program there would provide good ground contacts
  • Many sites there don't have adequate distribution systems in place
  • Water chemistry differences would greatly strain our research program
  • Replicate this lab in Ethiopian univeristy?
• Concept paper on wiki to be edited by whole team
  • concept paper
  • 2 pages intro to what the project is about to give to donors or allies

...

• Thursday and Friday April 10 and 11
• Number of meetings depends on agencies interested
• Need 5-year plan and concept paper by then
  • PLEASE EDIT/ADD TO THE WIKI-ED CONCEPT PAPER ASAP
• Video of the demo plant?

...

Fundraising goal for the team

• $300,000 to bring 15,000 people clean drinking water
  • Maybe present to groups as a per-plant cost
  • Groups could donate 1 plant
  • Use estimate of $20 per person
• Covers standing costs of employees in Honduras
  • Can handle 5 plants easily, maybe 10 even
• About 4-6 plants, with specific community names

...