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Forum Notes

November 12, 2008

Team forum and brainstorming on knowledge transfer and integrating new students

Knowledge Transfer

New Students

  • Assign mentors (from any team) as a question person for new members
  • Evaluation that past wiki pages are actually read
  • Online wiki orientation tutorial with quizzes
  • Better documentation to aid future members
  • More basic introductory information (i.e. glossary)
  • Smaller training sessions for new members
  • Newcomer orientation w demo plant and slideshow of processes
  • Lateral knowledge transfer between teams
  • Team updates on any major breakthroughs at beginning of class
  • Monthly (question) short (3-5 minute) update on projects to entire class
  • Weekly updates from half of teams, with each team going every other week
  • Class/speakers on Monday, half updates on Wednesdays (short class period)
  • Ensure an understanding of goals for team each semester
    Open house for research tours at the beginning of the semester

    AguaClara Credits

  • 1 credit technical writing course to add to CEE 2550 for technical writing option
  • Offer CEE4550 course as by permission of instructor with CEE 4540 or CEE 3310

    Forums

  • End of semester check in to see how these changes have worked out

From the March 12 forum

AguaClara Forum

Larry Harrington and Alice Pell visit

  • Meeting notes
  • How much should Cornell stay tied to AguaClara?
    • How much control should we keep, how much power and freedom should go to partner institutions
    • Could lose lab space and alumni connections
  • What other NGOs and groups should we pair with?
    • Religious focus of CRS and other faith-funded charities is tricky
  • Expansion into Ethiopia?
    • Cornell program there would provide good ground contacts
    • Many sites there don't have adequate distribution systems in place
    • Water chemistry differences would greatly strain our research program
    • Replicate this lab in Ethiopian univeristy?
  • Concept paper on wiki to be edited by whole team
    • concept paper
    • 2 pages intro to what the project is about to give to donors or allies

Pairing up with partner universities in localities we work in

  • May make Cornell more likely to fund academic (versus business and industry) interests
    • Keeping it more research versus humanitarian?
    • Legitimizes project from academic standpoint
    • Gives a resource on the ground to do site visits, etc

Focus on work done and work left to accomplish (in general, when presenting project to people)

  • We tend to make it sound like we have accomplished so much that there is nothing left to do
    • Need to reinforce the research that still needs to be done

Washington DC trip to meet with Ambassador and other aid agencies

  • Thursday and Friday April 10 and 11
  • Number of meetings depends on agencies interested
  • Need 5-year plan and concept paper by then
    • PLEASE EDIT/ADD TO THE WIKI-ED CONCEPT PAPER ASAP
  • Video of the demo plant?

Fundraising goal for the team

  • $300,000 to bring 15,000 people clean drinking water
    • Maybe present to groups as a per-plant cost
    • Groups could donate 1 plant
    • Use estimate of $20 per person
  • Covers standing costs of employees in Honduras
    • Can handle 5 plants easily, maybe 10 even
  • About 4-6 plants, with specific community names

Team website

  • CU web design league has been contacted
  • Need a new front page for the wiki
    • With photos, FAQs, fun stuff, and a link to our "current" front page

Ken Brown visit

  • AguaClara afternoon seminar
  • Evening dinner
    • Party
  • Other ideas???

From the Feb 13 forum

Wiki check-in

  • Please keep documenting your work!
  • Wiki-ing reports and work: all on one page with collapsible sections?
    • See Monroe's process controller page on how to make it work.
  • How do we let people know when their pages have been commented?
    • When you create a new page, select the envelope icon and you will receive updates on your page. That way if someone edits or comments "your" page, you receive an email notification and you can make adjustments.
  • Moving stuff from the old website onto the wiki
  • Team needs to make more contributions, Monroe is still dominating...

Team check-ins

  • Make sure you always have a clear list of tasks to work on
    • Meet with your sub-team leader if you need direction/tasks/help

Pilot plant team

  • Team organization
    • Connections with people working on sed tank, flow meter
  • Update the wiki to reflect these connections

Tamara Plant design issue

  • Plate settler support system design system needed by end of week
    • Collaborate with engineers in Honduras
  • Plate settlers have high cost, need a new construction design and a person to work on it

Design review process ideas:

  • Everyone in team reads through design and then asks questions in open forum
  • "Lead reviewer" for AguaClara reads and signs off on the design
    • Go Ian, go!
  • Massive final presentation of design first to whole team at end of semester, followed by a single reviewer

Rotary fundraiser

  • Fri Feb 29, rent a car, drive down and back in one day probably
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