WHO: Grey-box is a social innovation startup that is working on providing free wifi access to educational content in areas where internet and electricity access is problematic.

WHY: 50% of the world lives offline – they haven’t connected to the internet in the last 3 months. In Africa, the average cost for 1GB of data is 7% of the average monthly salary. Even in North America, 50% of rural Canada does not have access to the minimum speed for the Internet. We believe that this is a solvable problem.

HOW: Over the last 2 years and based on field research and work, we have developed an array of mostly open-source social innovation projects. Each of those projects has a dedicated page on Riipen, but this listing serves as a quick summary:

• UNI is a low-cost device (and soon an Android application) that allows Wi-Fi access to everyone, everywhere, even in areas without reliable or safe internet. With a simple click to upload, Slides, PDFs, videos, Moodle, databases, or even copies of entire websites can be made available offline for free.
• Project Codex uses AI to translate medical databases in several languages and regions to facilitate international operations. It can be accessed via a mobile site or a tool such as WhatsApp. The Medical Codex project aims to provide an easy-to-use tool that can help coordinate medical equipment between countries and to quickly translate medical terms across multiple languages while accounting for local variations such as brands and generics.
• Project Symmetry is an application using AI to accelerate Wikipedia's translation efforts in less-represented languages (less than 1 million articles) by building a semantic understanding of similar articles in various Wikipedia languages and providing relevant translations for missing information
• Project Scraper is a Google Chrome extension that enables offline access to a web page or an entire website with just a few clicks.
• Project Mesh is an application that enables Android devices to connect and send files and messages over long distances without requiring internet connectivity.
• Project Cybercafe is software that runs on an Android device, enabling smart hotspot functionality for the sharing of internet connectivity with other Wi-Fi devices. Recognizing costs and other restrictions that may exist in our targeted regions, several controls are in place to allow a high level of control over how a user’s hotspot device is used for internet access.

What are learners expected to complete?

Given the dynamic nature of our projects, learners in this HR and Operations role will engage in tasks that align with Grey-box’s mission to create impactful social innovation solutions. Specific tasks and deliverables include:

Recruitment and Onboarding:

• Develop and post internship/job descriptions tailored to various project needs (e.g., marketing, tech, HR).
• Screen applications, conduct initial assessments, and coordinate interviews with candidates.
• Create onboarding materials, including handbooks, training guides, and orientation plans.
• Analyze and improve the onboarding process by gathering feedback from new team members.

Operational Research and Analysis:

• Perform research on best practices for recruitment, onboarding, and team engagement in non-profit and startup environments.
• Conduct a SWOT analysis of Grey-box’s HR strategies and recommend improvements.
• Research and compile lists of academic institutions, student groups, and online platforms for outreach and partnerships.

Employee Engagement and Development:

• Develop and administer team surveys to assess satisfaction and identify areas for growth.
• Plan team-building activities or workshops to foster a collaborative environment.
• Assist in creating a feedback loop for volunteers and interns to improve their experience.

Process Optimization:

• Map out HR workflows and identify bottlenecks or inefficiencies.
• Create a project management template or tool for tracking recruitment and onboarding milestones.
• Propose technology solutions or tools to streamline HR processes (e.g., applicant tracking, scheduling).

Deliverables:

• A comprehensive recruitment and onboarding process document (we implement those templates and databases directly into Notion, with integrations with other tools such as Slack)
• A database of potential partnerships with schools and communities for talent acquisition. (we already have a database, but it needs to be reviewed, and its structure can be optimized)
• Recommendations for enhancing employee engagement and organizational culture.
• Metrics and reporting frameworks for evaluating recruitment and onboarding success. (we use OfficeVibe/Workleap)