43029 Introduction to Humanitarian Engineering
6cp; 3hpw, face-to-face, on campus, standardRequisite(s): (48 credit points of completed study in Bachelor's Degree owned by FEIT OR 48 credit points of completed study in Bachelor's Honours Embedded Degree owned by FEIT OR 48 credit points of completed study in Bachelor's Combined Degree owned by FEIT OR 48 credit points of completed study in Bachelor's Combined Honours Degree owned by FEIT OR 48 credit points of completed study in Bachelor's Combined Degree co-owned by FEIT OR 48 credit points of completed study in Bachelor's Combined Honours Degree co-owned by FEIT) AND (48230 Introduction to Engineering Projects OR 31265 Communication for IT Professionals)
These requisites may not apply to students in certain courses. See access conditions.
Description
Humanitarian engineering is the application of engineering skills and approaches to enable basic needs and contribute to social justice, with contexts ranging from community and technology development to emergency disaster response, both domestically and internationally. Although humanitarian engineering is focused on working with vulnerable and marginalised communities, the skills developed in humanitarian engineering are applicable to all engineering practice. These include community and stakeholder engagement, working cross-culturally, human-centred design, multi-disciplinary collaboration, environmental stewardship, socio-technical thinking, and more.
In this subject, the fundamental skills and knowledge of humanitarian engineering are introduced, building on the experiences developed in the Engineers without Borders (EWB) Challenge undertaken in 48230 Introduction to Engineering Projects or 31265 Communication for IT Professionals. Students learn about international development, the contexts of humanitarian engineering (and the skills to work effectively therein), essential approaches in humanitarian engineering (such as strengths-based approaches and socio-technical thinking), the key agencies in humanitarian engineering, and more. Beyond engaging with this content, students also have opportunities to reflect on their own learning about humanitarian engineering and its significance for their personal and professional development, and to explore a humanitarian engineering topic of personal interest (such as a particular case study, approach, context, or how engineering relates to a particular Sustainable Development Goal) in more detail.
Detailed subject description.