Background and my brief profile

I am a PhD in Demography from the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. My PhD supervisors are Prof. dr. F.J.C (Frans) Willekens and Prof. dr. Inge Hutter. I also have a Masters in Population Studies from the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai and a Masters degree (MA) in Sociology from University of Hyderabad, Central University Hyderabad. Currently I work as a Senior Project Research Scientist at Gram Marg a project undertaken by the Department of Electrical Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India in the TV White Space project at the Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Bombay. Prior to this, I was a Visiting Research Fellow at Indira Gandhi Institute for Development Research (IGIDR), Mumbai and Future Ideas, Mumbai. I have also taught courses in Sociology and Development as a guest lecturer at IIT Bombay and Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. I have published in International conferences, contributed book chapters and have authored a book in the areas of demography and social issues. My current work involves increasing digital outreach to remote and rural areas of India, deployment of new technology alternatives for the middle and last mile internet connectivity and development of a sustainable models supporting Public - Private - Panchayat - Partnership (4-P model).

Research interests

• Disease modelling
• Rural development through broadband connectivity
• Community Networks
• Gender gap in digital divide
• Technology adoption and acceptance in rural areas
• Life course and Longitudinal studies
• Qualitative Research Methods

Academic background

• Ph.D in Population Studies from the Population Research Centre of the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, titled: Higher education and the Reproductive Life Course: a cross-cultural study of women in Karnataka India and the Netherlands, Supervisors: Prof. Frans. J. Willekens and Prof. Inge Hutter, Feb 2006: pdf-file.
• MSc in Population Studies from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, February 2002.
• Masters in Population Studies from International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, 1999, Specialization in Business Demography.
• Masters in Sociology from University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, 1998, 1st Class. Specialization in Industrial Sociology, Indian Diaspora, Human Rights, Science and Technology.
• Graduation in Sociology, 1st Class. Ravenshaw College, 1996, Cuttack, Orissa. Sociology (Honours), Psychology (Minor) and Specializations in Industrial Sociology and Child psychology.

Research projects handled

• Gram Marg solution for rural broadband, the winner of Mozilla Equal Rating Innovation Challenge, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez3Yh7AhFMI
• Localisation of Technology: Libre Router Made in India Sarbani Banerjee Belur, Dipen Parmar,Tejas Vaghela, Rajesh Kushalkar, Michael Jensen, 2021 4th IEEE 5G Workshop on First Responder and Tactical Networks, Enabling 5G expansion into rural areas: The case study of LibreRouter https://futurenetworks.ieee.org/images/files/pdf/Final5G_Summit_2021_Brochure.pdf
• Bamboo Towers for sustainable internet connectivity: https://ieeetv.ieee.org/ns/ieeetvdl/BambooTowers_ConceptOnly_Technical_1stPlace.mp4?_=1
• https://youtu.be/WfyUN9mlsj8
• https://rising.globalvoices.org/blog/2019/01/20/exploring-models-of-sustainability-for-rural-connectivity-in-indian-villages/
• Seeded a community Network to grow in Pathardi village, Jawhar, Palghar: https://homepages.iitb.ac.in/~sarbanibelur/APC/
• https://indiaeducationdiary.in/iit-bombays-project-affordable-rural-broadband-wins-mozillas-equal-rating-innovation-challenge/

Recent Publications

Contributed chapter in edited book

• M. Khaturia, S. Banerjee Belur and A.Karandikar, TV White Space technology for affordable Internet connectivity in developing countries, In: TV White Space Communications and Networks, Eds: Robert Stewart, David Crawford and Andrew Stirling, Elsevier Publications, 2017.
• S. Banerjee Belur, M. Khaturia and N.P. Rao, Community-led networks for sustainable rural broadband in India: the case of Gram Marg, In: Community Networks: the Internet by the people, for the people, Official outcome of the UN IGF Dynamic Coalition on community connectivity, Editor: Luca Belli, 2017. Chapter-pdf-file
• S. Banerjee Belur, Communal violence and women in the context of Gujarat, In: Sectarianism, Politics and Development, Eds: U. Mehta and R. Puniyani, Rawat Publications, 2012.

Research Papers

• 19. Banerjee Belur and R. Srivastava, New Age women and their approach towards internet connectivity in rural India, GenderIT, October, 2019.
• 13. Khaturia, J. Singh, A. Patil, S. Banerjee Belur, A. Karandikar, P. CHaporkar and T. Ghadge, Towards Frugal 5G: A case study of Palghar test-bed in India, IEEE WCNC Future NEtworking Workshop for 5G and Beyond Test-bed and trials, April 2019.
• 19. Banerjee Belur, M. Khaturia and N.P. Rao, Community led networks for sustainable rural broadband in India: The case study of Gram Marg, Paper presented at Internet Governance Forum 2017 at United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, December 18-21, 2017.
• 19. Banerjee, F. Khan, A new approach to computer science curriculum for Indian students, 3rd International conference on EduExcellence, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, December 29-31, 2011.
• 19. Banerjee, C. Dasgupta and F. Khan, From computer literacy to digital literacy: A focus on digital storytelling, E India, 2011, Ahmedabad, December 16-18, 2011.
• 19. Banerjee, F. Khan, Computer Education in schools in India: the role of FOSS, Conference on Open Source India, Bengaluru, November 20-22, 2011.
• 8. Matsuo, S. Banerjee and I. Hutter, First marriage and first birth patterns by educational attainment in the transiting societies, the Netherlands, Japan and Southern India, The Population Association of America, Boston, USA, April 1-3, 2004.
• 19. Banerjee, Strategising first birth across birth cohorts and cultures, Paper in the poster session: Fertility and Family, The Population Association of America, Minneapolis, USA, May 1-3, 2003.
• 19. Banerjee, H. Matsuo and I. Hutter, Low fertility level and the position of women in society: has the second demographic transition arrived in India?, The Indian Association for the Study of Population, Mumbai, February 13-15, 2003.
• 19. Banerjee, Status of women: a bottom line investigation in India, The 2000 EastWest Centre International Conference, ‘Building an Asia Pacific Community’, Honolulu, Hawaii, July 4-8, 2000.
• 19. Banerjee, A prologue to the violence against women in India, The International Women’s Conference. Organised by McMaster University Hamilton, Canada at New Delhi, February 27th to March 3rd, 2001.
• 19. Banerjee, Sex disparity in infant and child mortality in India and major states, The Indian Association for the Study of Population (IASP) organised by Institute of Economic Growth, UNFPA and Population Foundation of India, New Delhi, February 14-16, 2000.

Research Reports

• Planning for BharatNet Phase 2: A report on IIT Bombay BharatNet planning tool, March 2017. A Government of India project.
• Study and evaluation of Left Wing Extremist (LWE) project: An assessment report by IIT Bombay, November 2017. A Government of India project.

Research Posters

• 19. Banerjee Belur, Bridging digital divide through meaningful connectivity: Gram Marg community led network, Poster presented at ACM COMPASS, San Francisco, June, 2018.
• 19. Banerjee Belur, Gram Marg solution for rural broadband, Symposium of Tata Centre of Technology and Design (TCTD) at IIT Bombay, January, 2018.
• 19. Banerjee and F.Khan, 21st century skills, addressing teacher and student needs, National Conference on Mathematics Education, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, January 20-22, 2012.
• 19. Banerjee and I.Hutter, Strategising first birth across birth cohorts and cultures, Population Association of America, (PAA), Minneapolis, USA, 2003.

Workshops

• Teacher Training workshop on Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation, Indian Institute of Technology, IIT Mumbai, December 2011.
• Introduction to Instructional Design, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, December 2011.

Journal Articles (Preprint/Submitted)

• K.Mallick, V.P.Samuel, S. Belur and M.N.Belur (2018), A state-space model extraction tool using Modelica-based first principles model.
• 19. Banerjee, N. Lodha and N. Palkar (2017), A multiple intelligence based approach to teach computers in schools.

Book Chapters

• 19. Banerjee Belur (2018), Addressing sustainability in rural connectivity: A case study of Gram Marg Community-led networks, Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch): pdf-file.
• 19. Banerjee Belur, M. Khaturia and N.P.Rao (2017), Community led networks for sustainable rural broadband in India: The case study of Gram Marg, Book Title: Community Networks: the Internet by the people for the people, Official 2017 Outcome of the United Nations Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Dynamic Coalition on community connectivity (DC3): link.
• 13. Khaturia, S. Banerjee and A. Karandikar (2017), TV White Space technology for affordable Internet connectivity in developing countries, Book Title: TV White Space Communications and Networks, Eds: Robert Stewart, David Crawford and Andrew Stirling, Elsevier Publications: link.
• 19. Banerjee (2012), Communal violence and women in the context of Gujarat, Eds: Uday Mehta and Ram Puniyani: Book Title: Sectarianism, Politics and Development, Rawat Publications.

Theses

• 19. Banerjee, Higher Education and the Reproductive Life Course: a cross-cultural study of women in Karnataka (India) and the Netherlands, Ph.D. Thesis, Dutch University Press, Population Studies, Amsterdam, 2006 (ISBN 90 3610 035 6). Permalink: https://www.rug.nl/research/portal/files/33148961/thesis.pdf
• 19. Banerjee, Reproductive career of women: comparison of the Netherlands and Andhra Pradesh in India, Master Thesis Series 03-1, Population Research Centre, University of Groningen, the Netherlands, 2003. https://www.popline.org/node/190262
• 19. Banerjee, Sex disparity in infant and child mortality: India and Major states, Master Thesis in Population Studies (MPS) course project report, IIPS, Mumbai, 1998. www.unfpa.org.in
• 19. Banerjee, Socio-Economic conditions of the child workers in roadside dhabas and tea stalls, (Sociology) Bachelor’s project report, 1996.

Handbooks

• S.Banerjee, C.Dasgupta and N.Palkar, Instructional design handbook. InOpen Technologies, SINE, IIT Bombay

Other papers/research papers/books

• S.Banerjee, T. Adhikari, [Book] Pickles and preserves: Stories of food preservation in India. Research work as part of Future Ideas September, 2012. Future Ideas: The research division of Future Group
• S.Banerjee [Book] Dubai Dreams……unlimited August, 2012. Future Ideas: The research division of Future Group

• Festival calendars based on communities, October, 2012. Future Ideas: The research division of Future Group

  • Tamil Nadu
  • Karnataka
  • Neo Buddhist

Teaching Experience

• Adjunct Professor at Humanities and Social Sciences Department, IIT Dharward in 2023. Taught two courses: one on Sociology, and one on Communication Skills.
• Guest lecturer at Humanities and Social Sciences Department, IIT Bombay in November, 2017. Gave 2 lectures for the course HS 601: Development and Planning.
• Guest lecturer at Humanities and Social Sciences Department, IIT Bombay in September, 2015. Gave 4 classes for the course HS 601: Development and Planning.
• Guest instructor at the Humanities and Social Sciences Department, IIT Bombay in September 2015. Gave 2 classes on Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).
• Guest Lecturer at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, (TISS), Mumbai in September, 2015. Gave a lecture as part of the course BC 02: Feminist Approaches to Disciplines, Methodologies, Methods and Tools.
• Was the sole instructor for a division for the Under graduate (UG) sociology course (in HSS-IITB, 2007) Name of the course: An Introduction to Sociology. Evaluation and assessment were also my responsibility for this course.
• Gave guest lectures for two M.Phil. Courses (HSS-IITB) 2007-08.

• During PhD, I have assisted in teaching the course onTheory and Data Collection in the Population Research Centre, University of Groningen, The Netherlands. The topics are as follows:

  • Life course: the Reproductive career of Indian and Dutch women.
  • Structure and Agency: Anthony Giddens Structuration Theory
  • Indian data sets

Work experience (present and past)

• Presently working as Senior Project Executive Officer in the National Disease Modelling Consortium, IIT Bombay.
• Worked as a Senior Project Research Scientist and Program Manager in the Gram Marg: Rural Broadband project at the Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Bombay. This project under the title 'Gram Marg solution for rural broadband' has been the winner of Mozilla Equal Rating Innovation Challenge, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez3Yh7AhFMI
• Worked as a Technical Writer at National Centre for Aerospace Innovation and Research (NCAIR), collaboration between Boeing, Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay.

• Research Associate in Future Ideas (part of Future Group). My job profile included:

  • Working on ethnographic research and community studies through festival calendars
  • Working on consumer products and consumer psychology
  • Research based projects and writing the same in a book form

• Education Analyst in InOpen Technologies, an e-learning company. The job description included:
  • Taking up independent research threads
  • Writing research articles for dissemination, presentation in conferences
  • Holding innovation workshops, teacher training
  • Leading study on effectiveness for the company product on e-learning
  • Collaborating with other team members
• Presently writing a book on 'Community Networks: Enabling Rural India digitally'.
• Authored a contributed chapter in the book 'TV White Space Communications and Networks', Edited by: Robert Stewart, David Crawford and Andrew Stirling, ISBN: 978-0-08-100611-5. Click here for the chapter.
• Authored a contributed chapter compiling committee reports on Gujarat Carnage. 'Communal violence and women in the context of Gujarat', Eds: Uday Mehta and Ram Puniyani: Book Title: Sectarianism, Politics and Development, Rawat Publications (2012).
• Associated with IGIDR as a Visiting Research Fellow for 6 months in 2006 in a UNDP project on state Human Development Indicators.
• Worked as Assistant Research Officer, in International Institute for Population Sciences, (IIPS) Mumbai, on a CIDCO New Mumbai project. (May 1999 to January 2000)

Other working experiences:

• Feasibility study to assess the necessity to study the Changing lives of women in the Indian context, as part of Ph.D from December 2002 till January 2003, Bangalore and Mumbai.
• Fieldwork as part of Ph.D in Bangalore and Mumbai, January 2004 till February 2004. I have conducted in-depth interviews with working women professionals in Bangalore.
• Fieldwork as part of Ph.D in the Netherlands, September 2004. I have conducted Focus Group Discussions and in depth interviews of working women professionals in the Netherlands.

Awards/Prizes:

• Recipient of the Impact. Engineered award 2018 for the category 'Connecting the unconnected' in New York, USA. This award is instituted by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and Engineering for Change (E4C).
• Impactful Research Award 2017, IRCC, IIT Bombay.
• First prize in Mozilla Equal Rating Innovation Challenge, 2017. Title of the project 'Gram Marg solution for Rural Broadband'.
• First prize for poster presentation in Population Association of America 2003, Minneapolis, USA in the session on Fertility and Family. Title of the poster ‘Strategising first birth across birth cohorts and cultures’.

Document last updated on 16th July 2024