Leveraging Students’ Passion and Creativity: ETHOS at the University of Dayton

Abstract

The Engineers in Technical Humanitarian Opportunities of Service-learning (ETHOS) program was developed in the spring of 2001 by an interdisciplinary group (electrical, chemical, civil and mechanical) of undergraduate engineering students at the University of Dayton (UD). ETHOS was founded on the belief that engineers are more apt and capable to appropriately serve our world if they have an understanding of technology’s global linkage with values, culture, society, politics, and the economy. Since 2001, the ETHOS program at UD has grown and changed. From conceptualization, to implementation, to maturation and national recognition, the program has addressed challenges of academic acceptance, programmatic integration and research support as a project-based approach to global engagement. This paper discusses how the program developed from a student idea to a nationally known program. It provides some examples of how projects from this program were integrated into other courses and linked to faculty research. Finally, it will present some of the challenges that face a program such as ETHOS.