A Conversation with Komal Dadlani: Creator of Lab4U-A Lab in your Pocket

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A Conversation with Komal Dadlani: Creator of Lab4U-A Lab in your Pocket

Location: Meeting Halls A&B, HQ1-3-430A&B

Maps

Seminar Report

Opening Remarks:

Jianhai Lin, Secretary, IMF

Moderator:

Sabina Bhatia, Deputy Secretary, IMF

Speaker:

Komal Dadlani, Co-Founder and CEO, Lab4U

For the 2019 Spring Meetings Inspirational Event, Komal Dadlani introduced her start-up company, Lab4U, which produces cell phone apps that allow students to perform science experiments without costly equipment. She provided a demonstration of her company’s apps and discussed her experience as a child of immigrants in Chile, and a female scientist and entrepreneur in Latin America.

Key Points:

· Meeting a need, having an impact. According to the IDB, 88 percent of schools in Latin America lack science labs, creating an opportunity and imperative for low-cost solutions. Lab4Physics, the company’s flagship app, currently has 120,000 users across a number of countries, including Chile, Mexico, and the United States. An IDB study found that students who conducted more than three experiments using Lab4U’s apps measurably increased their performance in physics and their interest in science.

· A higher bar. With less than 2 percent of venture capital money going to companies founded by female entrepreneurs, women face an additional hurdle in proving themselves to investors—a fact borne out by Dadlani’s personal experience with Lab4U. However, Dadlani was optimistic given the increase in grants and funds going to female founders.

· Social responsibility. Dadlani remarked that she did not see a division between entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship, and that all corporations had a duty to act in a socially responsible manner.

· Seek models of success. In response to a question from the audience about the lack of representation of women of color in the sciences, Dadlani encouraged young girls to find models for inspiration and success, whether they be teachers, friends, or historical figures. The world is filled with successful women achieving their goals and living their dreams.

Quotes:

“You cannot learn how to ride a bicycle by reading a book. You have to live the experience…In science, you have to live that experience of scientific experimentation.” Komal Dadlani

“Failing is just a step towards success, it’s not the end.” Komal Dadlani

Contributor: John Bishop

Komal Dadlani is a strong advocate for women in STEM. She created an app to help students in low-income communities use their smart phones to conduct lab experiments.

Join the conversation #IMFInspired

Opening Remarks

Jianhai Lin
Secretary of the IMF

Jianhai Lin is the Secretary of the Fund and the International Monetary and Financial Committee. He oversees the Secretary’s Department that has operational responsibility for the 24-member Executive Board, and serves as the official contact point of the IMF’s 189 member countries on institutional matters, including work of the Board of Governors. The Secretary’s Department also organizes the Spring and Annual Meetings, and is the creator and custodian of the IMF’s official record.

A Chinese native, Mr. Lin was appointed to his current position in March 2012. He previously served in senior positions in the Secretary’s, Finance, Policy Development and Review, and Asian and Pacific Departments. During his IMF career, he has worked across a wide range of country, policy, and administrative issues.

Mr. Lin studied at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, China, and the University of California at Berkeley, and earned his doctorate from the George Washington University. Before joining the Fund, he worked in the financial sector and academia.

Speaker

Komal Dadlani
Innovator

Komal Dadlani is a Biochemist with an MSc from the University of Chile, she was awarded the CONICYT Scholarship of academic excellence, has research experience in nanobiotechnology and molecular diagnostics. In 2013 she started Lab4U to democratize science and change the way science is taught with a lab in the pocket. Today Lab4U is present in Latin American and the US with more than 120,000 students using Lab4Physics, their first product with an impact validated through a randomized controlled trial. Komal has been a recipient of the Cartier Women Initiative Awards 2015, Toyota Mother of Invention Award 2017, MIT Technology Review 35 Under 35 Leaders in LatAm, Ashoka Fellow and internationally recognized by The New York Times, Forbes, People Magazine, and the BBC for her work at Lab4U as a top female entrepreneur.

Moderator

Sabina Bhatia
Deputy Secretary of the IMF

Sabina Bhatia is Deputy Secretary of the IMF. Prior to that, she was Assistant Director in the Communications Department. Sabina has a B.A. from Calcutta University and an M.A. in Applied Economics from Johns Hopkins University.