When we stepped out of the van, we were greeted with an enormous,
open marble building. We had arrived at IKP Knowledge Park and were
escorted into an air conditioned conference room. They gave us all
individual bottles of water and placed little jars of cookies
serendipitously around the conference table. The CEO of IKP gave us an
overview of their group and brought up some important points on
innovating in India. For example, she broke down the demographics in the
different areas of India, showing us that we had to be conscious of
where we were introducing a product. They served us all tea and coffee
(which we used as an excuse to break open the cookie jars) as Carmen
introduced MEP.
They then gave us a tour of some of their lab facilities. When we got back they were serving lunch, and oh whoops, first in line! As we ate curries and sandwiches, Jason presented, and then they started talking about other innovations they were working on. The servers, meanwhile, were distressed that I was trying to eat an apple without letting them cut it up. Eventually I was asked to present, which was great because the room was filled with people in start ups, running large studies with community health workers, and clinicians. We then got sucked into another larger discussion about gaps in healthcare that exist. Some of the recurring themes were chronic diseases (such as diabetes, etc), mental health, and neglected tropical diseases. Finally at 4:30 (we had been there since 10am) we called the meeting to a close. It took another half an hour or so before we were in the van and on our way (trying to get a group photo was like herding cats) and we didn't get back to the hotel until 7:30.
While most of the group went out to meet up with one of Lillian's friends from the Silicon Valley, Lina, Fiona and I stayed in to henna their hair. I painted it on, first trying to be cautious not to get it on my hands. This quickly devolved to the point where I was just scooping handfuls and massaging it in, sans gloves. As we waited for it to set we watched the Devil Wears Prada and ate "chicken soft noodles", our current bland obsession from the hotel.
In the end the henna didn't change their hair too much, but we have decided that both have a slightly reddish tint in the sun. Definitely worth it.
They then gave us a tour of some of their lab facilities. When we got back they were serving lunch, and oh whoops, first in line! As we ate curries and sandwiches, Jason presented, and then they started talking about other innovations they were working on. The servers, meanwhile, were distressed that I was trying to eat an apple without letting them cut it up. Eventually I was asked to present, which was great because the room was filled with people in start ups, running large studies with community health workers, and clinicians. We then got sucked into another larger discussion about gaps in healthcare that exist. Some of the recurring themes were chronic diseases (such as diabetes, etc), mental health, and neglected tropical diseases. Finally at 4:30 (we had been there since 10am) we called the meeting to a close. It took another half an hour or so before we were in the van and on our way (trying to get a group photo was like herding cats) and we didn't get back to the hotel until 7:30.
While most of the group went out to meet up with one of Lillian's friends from the Silicon Valley, Lina, Fiona and I stayed in to henna their hair. I painted it on, first trying to be cautious not to get it on my hands. This quickly devolved to the point where I was just scooping handfuls and massaging it in, sans gloves. As we waited for it to set we watched the Devil Wears Prada and ate "chicken soft noodles", our current bland obsession from the hotel.
In the end the henna didn't change their hair too much, but we have decided that both have a slightly reddish tint in the sun. Definitely worth it.
No comments:
Post a Comment