Abstract:

Traditionally educated engineers are ill-equipped to design the intentional, human-centered interventions required to achieve the UN Sustainability Goals. Thus, professionals and prospective students alike are captivated by emerging socially engaged technical disciplines. The discipline of study and innovation at this intersection goes by many names such as peace engineering, sustainability engineering, engineering for global development, social entrepreneurship for engineering, and more. The predominantly used title for crises like disaster relief and refugee aid is humanitarian engineering. As humanitarian engineering academic programs sprout worldwide, each institution emphasizes nuanced goals and methods, leading to a fragmented field of study lacking centralized objectives and educational resources. To build an understanding of humanitarian engineering across higher education, this presentation centers on the process and outcomes from a three-week intensive course in humanitarian engineering that included multiple institutions in this area. This international initiative brought together an interdisciplinary group of students to contemplate pressing humanitarian challenges through innovative thinking and practical application. The course development also brought together an interdisciplinary team of professionals, including humanitarian practitioners, trainers, and academic faculty from engineering and cross-cultural communication. This team designed a program that introduced humanitarian frameworks, project management, technological challenges, and environmental impacts, reflecting the foundations of the growing humanitarian engineering educational discipline. The program instructed students to contextualize engineering and project management tools within case studies and scenarios. For instance, a fictitious but thorough case study was presented to navigate students through the complexities of refugee crises. Sharing and standardizing such practices across institutions and nations could empower a new wave of humanitarian innovators.

Equipped with educational materials and guided by experts from the host institution INSA Lyon, Drexel University, Bioforce, and Humanity & Inclusion, this student team focused on designing innovations to deter sexual violence against women and girls in refugee camps. Over the course of the project, students wove elements together from the fictitious case study, real-world humanitarian secondary data, design research exercises, and engineering technologies. This work captures the innovation team's journey, showcasing how humanitarian engineering education can harness adaptable exercises to inspire meaningful solutions for global humanitarian issues. By weaving together theoretical knowledge and practical application, this student project exemplifies the power of focused education in driving humanitarian innovation and social change.

Keywords:

Humanitarian Engineering, Design Research, Human-Centered Design, Refugees, Humanitarian, Interdisciplinary, Project Management, Technology, Innovation, Education.