Acara Program in India

I am a life-member of the University of Minnesota’s Alumni Association.  In 2015 the Alumni Association External Relations Officer for the College of Science and Engineering asked me if I could assist the Acara program with fundraising.   Acara was an impact entrepreneurship program within the universities’ Institute on the Environment operating in partnership with the College of Science and Engineering and the Carlson School of Management.  It was a program for people interested in learning about and developing innovative solutions to the world’s “Grand Challenges”.  These are the tough, seemingly unsolvable problems facing humanity.  For example: climate change, food insecurity, lack of access to clean water and energy, improper sanitation, gender empowerment, racial inequality and many more.. Through Acara’s courses, workshops and field experiences, students develop impact ventures that address societal and environmental challenges. Acara’s May-June study-abroad seminar courses allowed students to explore entrepreneurial approaches to development challenges in India and Nicaragua.  I con-instructed the 3-week class centered in Bangalore, India in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.  Each class includes two journeys to rural India.  Subsequent classes have been cancelled due to the pandemic.  In 2022 the Acara program ceased as a stand-alone program.  Related classes continue the Institure on the Environment.  I wrote a reflection blog post at the end of the 2017 class. http://globalblogs.cse.umn.edu/search/label/India%202017   My experiences in India tilted my world view.  When I am not in India I reminisce about India.  When I am in India it clarifies the entire USA as a utopian land within which “problems” are mostly imagined.