The Responsible Computing Challenge Announces First Awardees in India

Nine Indian universities will receive $25,000 USD each to embed ethics into their higher education computing curricula

(TUESDAY, JUNE 11, 2024 | INDIA) – Today, the Responsible Computing Challenge (RCC) is announcing its newest awardees and first-ever cohort in India. These nine universities will develop and implement ethics-based computer science curricula — and lay the groundwork for a more ethical technology industry.

The universities will receive $25,000 USD each. RCC opened applications to Indian universities in July 2023, and the program is funded by USAID and implemented by Mozilla.

Over the past six years, RCC has awarded $6 million to universities across Kenya and the U.S. RCC’s work recognizes that society must actively address inequity in tech by training the next generation of technologists to build a more just, healthier tech ecosystem. RCC shifts how computing and related fields are taught at the undergraduate level, offering a new way of thinking and changing the tech talent pipeline.

Says Jibu Elias, Mozilla RCC Country Lead in India: “By weaving ethical considerations into the fabric of computing education, we prepare our students not only to excel in their technical careers but also to lead with integrity and foresight in creating inclusive technologies. These nine awardees will integrate crucial topics like accessibility rights and environmental justice into CS education in India.”

The nine universities were selected by a judging committee of nine industry and academic leaders. Judges reviewed over 43 applications, and the selected programs will contribute to a vibrant community of practitioners that have impacted over 15,000 students globally.

Meet the awardees

Marian College Kuttikkanam Autonomous (a unit of Peermade Development Society):

“Certificate Program in Equitable Digital Access for People with Disability”

Developing a comprehensive curriculum for a certificate program in Equitable Digital Access targeted at undergraduate computer science students.

Indian Institute of Technology Indore:

"Enabling Inclusive, Energy-Aware, and Formally Correct Computing: A Holistic Approach to Responsible System Development"

Preparing undergraduate students to understand inclusiveness, develop computational models and runtime that use minimal energy, promote open-source software as a responsible culture, and understand appropriate computing systems for different application-user target domains.

Ashoka University:

“The New Geography of the Information Age”

Exploring the interface between society and technology through field trips and expert speaker events focused on the geographical sustainability and the tech industry.

Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati:

“Bringing Environmental Awareness into Undergraduate Education in North-East India by Incorporating Computational Acoustic Ecology”

Utilizing soundscapes from multiple urban and non-urban environments in Northeast India to create teaching resources for undergraduate education across several disciplines: humanities, design, computer science, and engineering.

Shri Vile Parle Kelavani Mandal’s Dwarkadas J. Sanghvi College of Engineering:

“SimPPL: A Research Program for Indian Undergraduates from Underserved Communities”

A series of workshop-based training sessions to pursue coursework-adjacent responsible computing research projects, including open-source research tools built by student teams that focus on responsible AI, multilingual, and multimodal machine learning

National Institute of Technology Warangal, India:

“CLILuminating Changemakers Project”

Cultivating socially responsible engineering minds and empowering students to comprehend complex concepts for real-world challenges by integrating CLIL methodology into Computer Science and Engineering curricula.

Indian Institute of Information Technology Kottayam:

“A course on Understanding Diversity implication offered to CSE students from a sociology perspective to gain insights on Fairness, Accountability and Transparency of algorithms.”

Focusing on case studies, field assignments, class exercises, and activities that integrate Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency principles.

CHRIST (Deemed to be University):

“Integrating Ethics in Technical Communication: Redefining English Language Pedagogy for the Students of Technology in India”

An immersive approach to reimagining language pedagogy in curriculum and teaching methods of Skill Enhancement and Ability Enhancement courses offered to Computer Science students by the School of Humanities.

Kerala University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and Technology:

“Integration of Modules on "Responsible NLP" into Existing Natural Language Processing Course for Computing Students using Flipped Classroom Strategies and Outreach Components”

Integrating modules on "Responsible NLP" into an existing Natural Language Processing (NLP) course for CS students using flipped classroom strategies by incorporating outreach components to promote engagement and diverse perspectives.

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Press contact: Kevin Zawacki | [email protected]