(59c) An Integrated Approach to Enhance Global Awareness and Project Sustainability of Humanitarian-Based Projects | AIChE

(59c) An Integrated Approach to Enhance Global Awareness and Project Sustainability of Humanitarian-Based Projects

Authors 

Lewis, R. - Presenter, Brigham Young University
Bateman, T., Brigham Young University
Mason, N., Brigham Young University
International educational opportunities for engineering students that promote global awareness include, but are not limited to, internships, study abroad programs, and humanitarian programs such as Engineers Without Borders (EWB). Since 2007, a two-semester Global Engineering Outreach (GEO) course in the College of Engineering at _____________ University has enabled engineering and technology students from multiple disciplines to design and implement humanitarian-based engineering projects. Projects have been implemented in Tonga, Ghana, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru. Current projects focus on prosthetics, cookstoves, and quinoa.

During the two semesters, teams composed of five to six students regularly interact with global community members during the design process. The teams are composed of at least three engineering and technology disciplines and students receive technical credit for course participation. Interaction is in Spanish since nearly half of the students speak and write Spanish fluently and have lived abroad in a Spanish-speaking country. This communication is important to establish relationships and to obtain feedback.

Recently, the global project experience was expanded to include other disciplines such as nursing, sociology, media arts, physics, food science, plant and wildlife sciences, and business. Currently, students and faculty from 11 majors and 7 colleges are participating. The vision for integrating students and faculty across campus is to break down silos and enhance project sustainability by 1) expanding inspired and integrated learning through work on global projects that are integrated across campus, 2) utilizing student strengths associated with living abroad and having foreign language abilities, 3) increasing connections to Latin America that benefit communities with humanitarian projects, and 4) integrating existing Study Abroad experiences.

In addition to enhancing project sustainability through integrating projects across many disciplines, project sustainability is enhanced by including three trips throughout the year. In August, a subset of faculty and students (10-20 individuals) travel to the communities in Latin America to follow up on projects that were implemented the previous May, implement any project updates, and formalize plans for the upcoming two-semester course. In the following January, a subset of faculty and students (10-20 individuals) travel to the communities to test prototypes, obtain feedback, and prepare for the large Study Abroad experience that will occur in May. In May, at the end of the two-semester course, all students in the course travel on an implementation trip as part of a Study Abroad program. Additionally, other Study Abroad programs (such as nursing or sociology) are arranged to overlap with the engineering Study Abroad program since these other disciplines have been working on the projects together.

Significant efforts during project development occur so that students can 1) receive training on social impact assessment and communication, 2) review past reports and videos to increase understanding of the culture, 3) interact on a regular basis with the community throughout the design process, 4) implement social constraints along with technical constraints in the design process, and 5) document all social interactions with the community.

This work will present an overview of the course structure, the integrated approach with other disciplines across campus, and program assessment and feedback. Additionally, global awareness and project sustainability strategies will be presented. Specific examples will be related to the prosthetic projects currently being implemented in Ecuador and the quinoa projects currently being implemented in Bolivia. An overview of how multiple Study Abroad programs are integrated together will also be presented.