Spanning continents, languages, and perspectives, the Tika Vaani team is united in its commitment to building a healthier future through impactful innovation in partnership with communities. Friendship, mutual respect, generosity and laughter form the basis for our work and have seen us through hard times. We’re better together.
OUR TEAM
Spanning continents, languages, and perspectives, the Tika Vaani team is united in its commitment to building a healthier future through impactful innovation in partnership with communities. Friendship, mutual respect, generosity and laughter form the basis for our work and have seen us through hard times. We’re better together.
ADVISORY BOARD
CORE TEAM
MIRA JOHRI
Co-Principal investigator
Mira Johri is Professor at the University of Montreal and Principal Scientist at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM). Mira has served as Consultant in the Department of Maternal, Neonatal, Child and Adolescent Health at the World Health Organization, and currently serves as Independent Expert to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and Commissioner for the Lancet Commission on Global Hearing Loss. Her research has appeared in high-impact journals such as the Lancet, BMC Medicine, and the Bulletin of the World Health Organization. Mira’s current work focuses on equitable access to childhood vaccines globally and in India.
AADITESHWAR SETH
Co-Principal investigator
Aaditeshwar Seth is the co-founder of Gram Vaani, a social enterprise that builds innovative community media technologies for poor and marginalized communities to voice their opinions and demands. Gram Vaani has a been a pioneer in using voice-based technologies to build interactive applications for poorly literate and low-income communities, in the absence of Internet based access. Aaditeshwar is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at IIT Delhi, where he runs the ACT4D (Appropriate Computing Technologies for Development) research group which works on low-cost connectivity, data analysis, and other areas of application of information technologies for social development. Work by Aaditeshwar’s team at Gram Vaani and IIT Delhi is being used by over 150 organizations in India and other countries including several in Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, and has influenced the use of ICTs for development within many international aid and development organizations.
ROHIT SINGH
Project Lead - Gram Vaani
In 2006, Rohit left the corporate world to work for the social development sector. Starting his journey with grassroots NGOs and social activists, Rohit acquired a broad experience in the area of Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCH+A) and the challenges faced by rural and tribal populations across multiple states of India. In the last 6 years at Gram Vaani, Rohit has been developing innovative and engaging social media platforms for a diverse set of partners, enabling first-generation mobile phone users to access information and share their stories. An MBA from NMIMS (Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies) University, Rohit is currently pursuing a PhD in the role of ICT in Social & Behavioural Change Communication based partly on learnings from Tika Vaani.
DINESH CHANDRA
Research Manager
As Research Manager, Dinesh serves as the essential pivot point between Tika Vaani’s network of policy, research and technology partners and the field. With responsibilities ranging from survey design and data analysis to field management, Dinesh ensures creative synergy between science and the grassroots. Dinesh holds an MSc in Economics and has been working in public health research since 2011, focussing on critical areas such as family planning, nutrition in pregnancy and early childhood, water, sanitation and hygiene, and immunization. He has a track record of building effective collaborative partnerships with academic institutions, NGOs, the Indian government and, most importantly, with individuals and communities at the grassroots. To bring about sustainable change and enhance social justice, Dinesh believes that the community is the true bottom line.
AJIT B. SOLANKI
CEO of Jagriti Foundation
Ajit currently works as State Head for Pratham Institute’s development & growth of skilling program in the northern states of India. He holds a Master’s degree and M.Phil in Social Work and has more than 20 years’ experience working in field-based development projects. Ajit previously worked as State Head of Pratham Uttar Pradesh and designed, implemented and monitored Pratham’s Read India & Urban Program in Uttar Pradesh. He was a member of the Uttar Pradesh core team for the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), a nationwide annual survey of children conducted in every rural district in India. He has also worked to facilitate Pratham and ASER’s collaborative work in Pakistan and South Africa.
Ajit co-founded Jagriti in 2009 with the mission to foster innovative grassroots development projects in his home state of Uttar Pradesh. He believes that, in order to succeed, development projects have to be in constant contact with the community and dedicated to service with heart and mind. Impatient to see a positive future for underprivileged children and youth, he is a driving force for change.
ROUNAK SAHA
Technology Lead for Tika Vaani
Rounak is leading Gram Vaani’s engineering thrust to intelligently digitise immunisation data across India using computer vision techniques. A seasoned product engineer who can write Java, Android, Python and JS, Rounak is building the Tika Vaani platform and is responsible for the machine learning models on the platform.
Rounak is interested in human computer interactions in the last mile, computer vision technologies and network theory. Prior to his current role, Rounak graduated from King’s College London as a Chevening Scholar. He has previously led two organisation in Kolkata in the domain of web services – Digital Bongs and E Info Solutions.
VIJAY SAI PRATAP
Strategic partnerships
Co-founder and CEO of Gram Vaani, Vijay leads Tika Vaani’s efforts to achieve sustainability and scale through strategic partnerships. Vijay is pained by the fact that not many Mobile or ICT based initiatives for development around the world have been able to scale significantly or achieve sustainability. Vijay leads strategic partnership development for Tika Vaani with the goal of achieving impact at scale. Vijay built and led the LIS unit at OnMobile as Director-BD. An Electronics and Communication Engineering graduate (Univ. of Madras), MBA (Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning) and an MBL (National Law School of India University) with over 13 years’ experience in the Telecom and VAS industry, Vijay believes it’s time to make it happen and now!!
GRAMVAANI
Technology & content partners
No wonder we’re friends. The Gram Vaani team shares one idea – ‘junoon’ (meaning ‘passion’, bordering on obsession). GramVaani works to create better, more community-relevant technology that will fundamentally improve social structures. We thank the entire GramVaani team for ongoing contributions in the areas of ideas and inspiration, technology development, content development, field mobilisation, and administration, with a special recognition to:
JAGRITI FOUNDATION
In the Field
Jagriti Foundation brings together field staff expert in community mobilisation, behaviour change communication, and research data collection through household surveys. Field team members contributed to earlier phases of this research project from 2011 – 2015. For the Tika Vaani project, the Jagriti team works closely with the communities to introduce the platform, refine the intervention model, and ensure effective program reach and a two-way flow of information through offline communication channels. Jagriti also plays a key role in field data collection.
“Jagriti” means “awakening” in Hindi. Community empowerment is at the heart of our vision.
RESEARCH PARTNERS
Leading scientists and technical specialists generously share their expertise, helping us to ensure that we use the most rigorous and up-to-date concepts, designs and methods in our field research.
TRAINEES
Since 2014, students and interns have been an integral part of the Tika Vaani team. Master’s degree and Ph.D students have received support from the University of Montreal, IC-IMPACTS, and the Government of Canada’s Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarships. We thank them for their energy, their laughter, and their amazing contributions!
PEREZ, Myriam Cielo; Université de Montréal, MSc thesis and PhD student – 2012 to present
GOEL, Harshit; Department of Computer Science, IIT Delhi, BTech 2019
JAIN, Shubham; Department of Computer Science, IIT Delhi, BTech 2019
RAKOTONARIVO, Rindra Doriane; Université de Montréal, MSc Intern 2019
DELACAS, Melinda; Université de Montréal, MSc intern 2019
BHAGAT, Pranav; Department of Computer Science, IIT Delhi, BTech 2018
LEFEBVRE, Joanie; Université de Montréal, MSc intern 2018
SAUVÉ, Frédérique; McGill University, BSc intern 2018
OTIS, Alexandra; Université de Montréal, MSc intern 2018
PLOURDE, Janie; Université de Montréal, MSc intern 2018
BOJANOWSKI, Claudia; Université de Montréal, MSc intern 2016
NASH, Eleanor; Université de Montréal, MSc intern 2016-17
RODGERS, Louis; Université de Montréal, MSc intern 2016-17
BERGERON-CARON, Cassi; Université de Montréal, MSc intern 2015
ABOU RIZK, Cybil; Université de Montréal, MSc intern 2015
MINOYAN, Nanor; Université de Montréal, MSc intern 2014
