Creating a sustainable humanitarian engineering program

Abstract

At Baylor University we have done engineering service projects in the developing world for about 10 years. As we have assessed both our successes and failures, we realized that to make the projects sustainable, they had to be done with local partners over many years. Our level of engagement with the local people has had a significant impact upon the sustainability of the projects. Our model for how best to do this engagement has changed as we have learned from experience. We are now working in Haiti, partnering with a local non-profit group that has been working in Haiti for 20 years. This helped us earn credibility in the local community. In May 2013 and May 2014 we did solar projects that were well received. We also did projects involving water quality testing and water purification. This work has great promise for being sustainable, for it is working with (not for) the local people and is close enough to the United States so that its costs are more manageable. In addition to creating sustainable projects, we need to develop ways to make the program at our university sustainable. This involves doing several things to help students stay motivated to work in this area. In addition to our trips we have created several cocurricular activities (such as a book club discussing Humanitarian Engineering). We have also made curricular changes, such as introducing an alternative engineering ethics course called Ethics for International Service. We have created a Humanitarian Engineering concentration within our generic engineering major. Students in this concentration will take courses in six topics: people (and culture), economics, development, energy, food/water, and an international service learning class. When coupled with their engineering skills, these courses will help our students be more successful while working in the developing world.