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"Information Technologies & International Development"
Renee Kuriyan is a PhD Candidate in the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley. For her dissertation research, she is focusing on the political economy of how information and communication technologies are being used as tools for development.
Information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as Internet-enabled computers and mobile phones have been widely introduced in the hope that they will contribute to social development and poverty alleviation. Various actors have converged on the idea that ICTs can support socio-economic development with health, e-governance, and agricultural applications for rural populations. One of the most popular models for the delivery of these services is access to shared computers through rural computer kiosks.
Renee’s doctoral research examines the social and economic aspects of these ICT kiosk projects in India. Specifically she is examining how the structuring of ICT projects leads to particular outcomes for entrepreneurs and households. She uses ethnographic methods to explore state, society and market relationships within this context. Her research explores the concept of 'development' within these 'ICT for development' (ICT4D) projects both empirically and ideologically.
Her research interests include exploring the relationships between technology and society and examining the social aspects of technology deployments for development. She has been conducting research in southern India (Andhra Pradesh and Kerala) for the last 3 years in collaboration with the Technology and Infrastructure for Emerging Regions (TIER) group at Berkeley. The TIER group is an interdisciplinary group of technologists and social scientists investigating the design and deployment of new technologies for emerging regions. She is interested to apply her research to influence technology policies for developing regions.
Renee joined ERG because of its research focus on technology, development and society. The inter-disciplinary research approach that ERG fosters complements her interests. In particular, ERG’s approach to not only understand problems, but also to help solve them matches her aspirations.
Renee holds a BA in Anthropology from Middlebury College. She has a Masters degree in Public Affairs from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School with a focus on international development and a certificate in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy. She has extensive experience conducting research on a range of technology and development topics in Africa (Kenya and Tanzania) and India. This includes projects with the World Bank, UNDP, UNEP, NGOs, and Microsoft Research India.
2/1/07
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PHOTO/R.NORGAARD
ERG PhD candidate, Renee Kuriyan.
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Rural people receive educational training on computers for the first time.
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Women's Self Help Group meeting, Kamataka.
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