CBR Seed

The CBR Seed is a 6-month student-led, community-based research project in which students from SOI Asia partner universities propose and collaborate to develop real-world solutions guided by a human-centered, technology-driven mindset. This program allows learners to apply the skills and knowledge acquired previously through the APIE and EBA learning components.

Before the program, learners first form a four-member team, combining students from two universities, composed of EBA and APIE alumni. These teams collaboratively develop and submit proposals, and selected teams proceed to participate in the program. Supplementary workshops on Fieldwork methodologies and Human-centered design are provided to help with proposal development.

Throughout the program, learners work in a multidisciplinary and multicultural setting, engaging directly with the field to identify real-world problems and formulate research questions. They design research plans, ideate potential solutions, and develop prototypes, which are then tested in real-world contexts. Through continuous feedback from stakeholders, they iteratively refine their solutions while analyzing their findings. Along the way, each team produces periodic reports and actively disseminates its outcomes to a broader audience.

Activity Workload: 120 hours estimated, including proposal development.

Activities and Structure of the Program

Team Formation & Research Planning
- Form cross-institutional student teams of four
- Identify a community issue and develop a research question
- Establish project milestones and a research plan with faculty guidance
Community-Based Research & Solution Development
- Conduct approximately six months of community-based research
- Engage with local communities and stakeholders through field research and data collection
- Analyze findings and develop a prototype or initial solution based on identified community needs
- Test the prototype in the field and gather feedback from actual users and community members
- Refine the solution based on feedback and research findings
Monthly Progress & Mentorship
- Submit a monthly progress report based on the team’s established milestones
- Reflect on progress, challenges, and next steps
- Receive ongoing feedback and guidance from faculty mentors
Presentations & Knowledge Sharing
- Deliver an interim presentation to share research progress, initial findings, and prototype development, and receive feedback for further refinement
- Deliver a final presentation to share the completed research, refined solution, outcomes, and lessons learned
- Exchange knowledge and experiences across the SOI Asia network

Past CBR Seed

CBR Seed #01 (October 1, 2025 – March 30, 2026)

Skills Acquired

The students have demonstrated the following skills by the completion of this program:

Collect and document evidence from real-world community contexts using observation, inquiry, and other appropriate data-gathering methods.
Identify and analyze community needs and challenges by synthesizing perspectives from community members, stakeholders, and field data.
Formulate clear and meaningful research questions that guide the research and solution-development process
Develop creative and context-appropriate ideas to address identified challenges and opportunities.
Design and manage a research project by establishing goals, milestones, workflows, and timelines, and monitoring progress throughout the project.
Collaborate across institutions and disciplines to conduct research, exchange perspectives, and develop solutions.
Develop prototypes that translate ideas and research insights into tangible solutions.
Evaluate and refine prototypes by gathering feedback from actual users and community stakeholders and incorporating their input into the solution.
Communicate research and project outcomes effectively using clear storytelling and evidence-based narratives

Related Courses

APIE Camp
- The APIE Camp is a 5-day, onsite program that delivers a project-based, intensive curriculum focused on network design and deployment. The camp includes hands-on training in configuring switches and routers, virtualization, network security, DNS, IoT, and cloud integration. Learners build both foundational and advanced skills through practical labs and collaborative projects, culminating in a final presentation and interaction with industry professionals.
EBA Fieldwork
- The EBA Fieldwork Program is an on-site experience applying the Evidence-Based Approach to real-world issues. Over the course of the program, learners engage directly with urgent issues in society and actively apply the EBA method in practice, through field-based data collection, analysis, visualization, and storytelling. They interact with local stakeholders, do collaborative investigations, and design evidence-based solutions tackling the issue in the field.

Prerequisite

Participants should complete the APIE Camp or EBA Fieldwork to submit a proposal to this program.

Criteria

This badge was awarded to the learners who completed the following criteria:

Active participation and contribution to the teamwork
Submission of monthly team reports
Present research progress and outcomes through the interim review and final presentation