Real world solutions are multi-faceted and require a broad range of skills, knowledge and perspectives. Tisch College prepares students to work together across disciplines and confront problems from many angles.
After a devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the Tufts community quickly mobilized to bring desperately needed assistance to the people on the ground.
Tools for Response
As disaster reports started coming in, Patrick Meier, F12, rallied his peers at The Fletcher School, reached out to Tufts undergraduates and developed a nearly real-time crisis map — a critical tool for relief organizations trying to distribute resources and find those most in need.
Meier had already been working with Ushahidi, an information gathering platform that emerged in the wake of post-election violence in Kenya, and was able to quickly apply the technology to the situation in Haiti. Leading a team of over 200 Tufts students and over 1,200 volunteers from 40 countries, the group harnessed the power of cloud computing to collect, translate and map thousands of eyewitness reports that came in via text message, e-mail and social media sites.
Sustaining Solutions
Meanwhile, Dr. Mark Pearlmutter, M84, assistant professor of emergency medicine, School of Medicine, led a team of Tufts physicians to Haiti to help with the first response relief efforts. With previous experience in the country, Pearlmutter had already been exploring the possibility of establishing a permanent rotation of medical students there. But while medical professionals were desperately needed, the crisis also increased the need for careful planning and preparation. Pearlmutter collaborated with L’Hopital Sacre Coeur, 70 miles north of Port-au-Prince, to ensure Tufts teams would truly meet the needs of the community. The site began welcoming medical students in mid-2010, and has proven to be a successful partnership for the Tufts students and for the Haitian patients and medical professionals involved.
Download the pdf of the Tisch College 2010-2011 annual report.
