REDX is a platform that brings together technical experts, innovators, researching institutions, implementation partners and corporate partners that will allow us to solve the most pressing challenges within our communities. These are highly collaborative efforts, involving researchers from multiple disciplines such as public health and safety, biology, computer science, statistics, mathematics, fabrication, hardware and software simulation and modeling.

REDX labs and clubs serve as gateways to the energy and creativity of innovators who are creating solutions to satisfy significant social needs in their locations, and perhaps elsewhere as well. The next generation of innovators is being cultivated, and the seeds of economic development and personal empowerment have being planted – through the innovators themselves, their solutions, and the people they touch. From an Open Systems Interconnection model perspective, we are facilitating the connection between the data and physical layers, thus enabling interoperability, communication and functionality.

In collaboration with experts from several research centers at the MIT Media Lab, bright young innovators from all regions around the world have the opportunity to work closely with corporate executives, academics from institutions of higher learning, government officials and experienced mentors to imagine and develop solutions to solve major problems affecting citizens in resource-constrained areas and situations.
There are REDX Labs and Clubs on almost every continent around the world.

About

REDX proudly draws from existing networks, such as: IEEE, Fab Labs, F.I.R.S.T. Robotics, TEDx, GDG (Google development groups), and other institutions in order to facilitate the creation of solutions that will have the greatest impact. REDX accesses and leverages workshops, makerspaces, and materials; REDX/MIT Media Lab experience and connections; and REDX events. REDX facilitates inter-Club communications to share data, knowledge, expertise and tools. REDX provides concept review and feedback: Are these solid and realistic proposals that you’ve come up with? Have they been done before? Is this a fresh idea? Feedback on how to proceed with your proposal: what venue might be best?

All approved REDX clubs are inter-connected.

REDX labs are mentored directly by Ramesh Raskar and his team at the Media Lab. The labs are self-funded members of MIT Emerging Worlds. They provide innovation space and funding to support innovators while they are working on their projects. REDX labs are invited to participate in 2 overseas events per year and 2 MIT events per year. They are part of the MIT Emerging Worlds SIG (special interest group) at the Media Lab. http://mitemergingworlds.com/

REDX Mumbai, in Mumbai, India, is creating low cost health diagnostics. The REDX lab in Mumbai at the Prin. L.N. Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research (WeSchool) began in 2014. The lab leverages the WeSchool’s skills in industry research, analysis and management. http://www.welingkar.org/redxmumbai/

LVP-MITra, the REDX lab in Hyderabad, India is enabling affordable vision for all. The LVP-MITra innovation lab is hosted at the L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI). Medical professionals from major health centers including LVPEI and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston provide mentorship and guidance. The focus is on building and deploying the next generation of screening, diagnostic and therapeutic tools to enable all to see. http://lvpmitra.com/

DISQ, the REDX lab in Nashik, India is empowering smart citizens. The DISQ Center (Digital Impact Square), a TCS Foundation (Tata Consultancy Services) initiative, opened in March 2016, with a focus on digital solutions. In 2011 the MIT Media Lab began collaborating with the Kumbhathon

Foundation, and in 2015 the first solutions were successfully launched at the Kumbh Mela festival. https://www.digitalimpactsquare.com/

Academic institutions specializing in engineering, business and design can initiate, build, and grow an innovation capacity by starting a REDX club. Students will gain real-life experience, and you will strengthen relationships with the local ecosystem, while addressing big problems. REDX clubs feed innovators and solutions directly into REDX labs. REDX clubs will receive $500/year to support training events.
 

REDX clubs operate as non-profit organizations. Innovators and their solutions have the opportunity to interact with other REDX clubs and work in REDX labs worldwide. The onboarding process to become a REDX club includes a 10-week course, appointing a board and an academic advisor, establishing a community coalition, and recruiting innovators and mentors. Clubs receive certification directly from Ramesh Raskar, Professor at the MIT Media Lab.
 

REDX club initiation

• Take 10-week REDX course

• Assemble Innovation Board

• Assign academic advisor

• Establish community coalition

• Recruit innovators and mentors

• Receive certificate from Professor Ramesh Raskar of MIT Media Lab

• Begin innovating for billions
 

REDX São Paulo. The São Paulo, Brazil club is located at the Federal University of São Paulo. The Departamento de Oftalmologia e Ciencias Visuais (Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences) established the club in 2016 to work on eye health solutions.

REDX Guadalajara. The Guadalajara, Mexico club at CINVESTAV (Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional), a non-governmental scientific research institution affiliated with the National Polytechnic Institute was established in 2016.

Clubs in other regions are in various stages of being established; those include Kenya (Nairobi), Slovakia (Bratislava), as well as locations in the US.

If accepted, your club will receive an official REDX Club license. A successful application demonstrates that you and your founding members are organized, dedicated, creative, responsible, and passionate about finding solutions to problems that can impact billions of lives.

(1) Assemble a REDX Club Senior Board of Innovators

• This group of approximately five to ten leaders are responsible for planning and coordinating most of the REDX Club’s meetings, activities, projects, speakers, and other Club functions. These leaders will select projects to focus on for submission to REDX and will appoint Club members to be the point people on these projects. The REDX Senior Board of Innovators will also be responsible for reviewing applications to the Club and selectively inviting new members to join.  

• Your team should people with diverse skills and interests -- including skills in engineering, IT, business and design. In the beginning, your Club may not have many material resources available. As a result, your Board’s most important resource will be the contacts you can convene: people you know with skills, expertise, materials, facilities, and other resources that will help you put your ideas into action.

(2)  Confirm a REDX Club Advisor

• The advisor is typically a faculty member. This person is responsible for leading negotiations within the institution and faculty and acting as an academic advisor, according to university rules, as well as with outside institutions.

(3) Plan REDX Club Build-a-thon - like a barn raising

• Big event that gets the community involved - talent magnet for people and ideas.

• Launch Party. The goals of this event are to build connections with other students and organizations, to establish your REDX Club as a major presence in your school or community, and to draw large numbers of applicants to your Club. Using your club’s connections and network, you can hold a big event for hundreds of people from such different sectors of society as business, research institutions, government, civic organizations, and industry. These people will benefit your project and provide necessary resources for your club in the future. Typically, a launch party will have a host, several speakers from different professions, REDX club members, and audience from society. The whole party should not take longer than four hours. It is recommended to start the event in the afternoon and end before 9 PM.  

• REDX clubs should be familiar with the SPOT PROBE GROW LAUNCH platform. This is the path that we take to identify problems to pursue, and to progress from idea to proof of concept to prototype to solution to impact. Typically, a first event will uncover and articulate challenges that innovators can pursue.

• Look Local, Think Global: REDX Clubs are encouraged to draw inspiration from current issues in their communities to provide perspectives that outsiders might not be able to bring. An ideal proposal of a project should not only focus on its original problem, but also have practical implications on a broader perspective.

• Look Before You Leap: Make sure your REDX Club team is capable of carrying out the project you plan before you bite off more than you can chew. Just because an idea is good doesn’t mean that it is feasible. Be ambitious, but make sure your projects won’t be unrealistically challenging, time-consuming, or expensive for your Club and team members.

• Work Smarter, Not Harder: In a university environment, there are hundreds (if not thousands) of brilliant people involved in groundbreaking work potentially related to your project. Take advantage of them!  These projects can tie in closely with work that people are already doing on class assignments, senior theses, dissertations, Ph.D. research, anything you can think of!

(5) Spend 10 weeks training and developing the ideas

• Videos/Multimedia During the 10-week session, it is important to keep absorbing new ideas and inspirations from renowned individuals. Their perspectives and experience might be a big help for you and your project. Therefore you should prepare quality videos in advance. We recommend the speakers from TEDxBeaconstreet. For example, Ramesh Raskar’s “Idea Hexagon” is a solid starting point to gather innovation spirit. Watching videos is an effective way to educate your club members during the course of your project development, and the speakers can help you “think outside the box”. The MIT Emerging Worlds team will provide course materials that you can take online.

• You should make connections with other technology or engineering clubs on your campus or in your community, as well as REDX Labs and other REDX Clubs on other campuses. Sharing contacts, ideas, materials, and resources benefits everyone!