Gitanjali Rao, the young scientist using innovation to advocate for children’s rights

I believe it is my responsibility to share some of what I was fortunate to receive. I learned the importance of communicating effectively to diverse groups of individuals with varied backgrounds and being humble enough to accept the fact that I have a lot to learn. I believe we stop growing when we stop learning. The feedback I get through direct channels, social media and media makes me want to do better, empathize with the needs of many who are just looking for an opportunity and help cultivate the next generation of innovation leaders.

As much as I enjoy cultivating an innovation culture in schools and other forums through workshops and sessions worldwide, I cannot ignore the time needed for a quality session. The most difficult part is to ensure students are getting what they want from these sessions while learning new fun techniques. With audiences across the globe with different learning backgrounds, it is a challenge to keep the process consistent and relevant, while ensuring that participants, including teachers, understand the core ideas and derive value from them.

In addition, it is complicated to keep track of research labs, mentors, and competitions in different locations that offer students opportunities. Internet speed, student security – especially for girls in countries like Afghanistan, time zones, video conferencing capabilities, and language barriers are some of the common issues, but students find these resources invaluable and I strive to stay accurate and reliable for them. Learning from the feedback and continuously improving has helped conduct many of the recent workshops smoothly, but I still have a long way to go.

In addition, as a student with my own academic plan, time management has been tough. I am still learning the perfect balance and do not have a magic formula. To tackle that, my future plans include conducting more sessions, expanding the reach to more underdeveloped areas of the world, and developing local chapters that make my mission self-sustaining beyond me and my schedule.

At the end of the day, we are all here to make a difference and even if we inspire and motivate one other person with our deeds, I believe we have contributed to a better future for all of us. Innovation is a necessity and not a luxury anymore, and I hope to keep taking risks and dreaming big to mandate innovation curriculum in our early education no matter the economic status or background we are born into.”

To help UNICEF and Gitanjali end cyberbullying – one message at a time – visit www.unicef.org/kindly