Training engineering leaders through international community development projects

Abstract

Future engineering leaders will need to apply their skills across many economic and cultural boundaries, yet these experiences are often overlooked in a traditional engineering education. Service learning, or community service integrated into the academic program, provides a unique opportunity for students to apply their engineering skills to problems facing underserved communities worldwide. At the University of Texas at Austin, students have shown their enthusiasm for these activities through the campus chapter of Engineers Without Boarders (EWB). In 2008, a multidisciplinary design course with both technical and cultural components was developed with a EWB project as its focus. During the semester, students worked on a water treatment and distribution system for a girls' school, Saker Baptist College (SBC), in Cameroon, Africa. Non-enrolled students were also given the opportunity to participate on an as-needed basis. Students were divided according to skill level and preference into one of five project teams. These teams were intended to cover the major areas of product design, project planning, community/customer relations, and community health and education. Class time was divided among lectures from international volunteers, discussions of west African literature and politics, and project work. At the completion of the semester, students were prepared to travel to Cameroon to complete the assessment phase of the project. Supervision was provided by a faculty member, a teaching assistant, a professional engineer, and two student project leaders to ensure completion of the semester's work. Student feedback to date has been positive and course instructor survey results will be used to further develop service learning opportunities for engineering student leaders. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2009.