Building Sustainability Into Humanitarian Programs
Adding two elements can help plans succeed and connections last.
By Kirsten Heikkinen Dodson
Engineering educators are tasked with lofty objectives: teach engineering fundamentals and also develop students who can solve complex socio-technical problems. Many programs have found success by incorporating humanitarian engineering topics or employing service learning. In taking on such complicated problems, however, these programs have encountered obstacles including failed partnerships, student turnover, and a lack of commitment from communities and professionals. Over the past seventeen years, Lipscomb University has built a unique model to ensure sustainable projects.
The work of the university’s Peugeot Center for Engineering Service in Developing Communities can be described through a case study of a potable water system designed and built in partnership with ADICAY, a Guatemalan nongovernmental organization. The model reflects the cyclical design process with two important additions: mentoring, which serves as the foundation of the model, and building trust, which connects the cycle.
Students receive technical mentoring from engineering professionals; communities provide cross-cultural mentoring for both students and professionals. The Peugeot Center staff and partnering organization participate in collaborative mentoring in which healthy exchange of feedback and guidance create a level and trusting relationship.
Longterm trusting relationships with partners allow for maximum effectiveness and impact. These relationships start with a mutual vetting process between the Peugeot Center and potential partner. Center staff meet with the organization to ensure a shared commitment to serve and empower the community. For instance, in 2014, the Peugeot Center met with ADICAY to discuss a partnership, review each other’s practices, and agree on mutual goals. ADICAY’s continued trust with Mayan communities was a major factor in solidifying the partnership.
Following a need-based project request, the Peugeot Center staff lean heavily on the expertise of professionals and the partner to examine the project’s risk, cost, impact, and scope. It is also important that the projects are challenging for students but simple enough that professionals can feasibly delegate tasks. In May 2017, ADICAY and the Peugeot Center sent a small team to visit Guatemalan communities with high levels of water-borne illness to assess project feasibility and scope. Setzimaaj was the first community to make a formal request for a potable water system, which was then approved by ADICAY and the Peugeot Center.
Each Peugeot Center team includes a technical mentor (focused on project tasks), team leader (focused on logistical tasks), and six to eight students. Before stepping into these roles, technical mentors and team leaders are required to shadow and be mentored by an existing leader as well as complete training led by the Peugeot Center. For the Setzimaaj water project, ten students (across two teams), one technical mentor (a professional water engineer), two team leaders, and one leader-in-training supported the design and installation alongside ADICAY.
Each project’s completion is the responsibility of the technical mentor and team leader with support from Peugeot Center staff. Students participate in the technical design and hands-on implementation alongside the partner and community. This approach provides combined technical and cross-cultural mentoring as well as critical-thinking practice as students consider complex socio-technical factors. For the Setzimaaj water project, students supported site surveys, hydraulic modeling, and onsite construction with guidance from the technical mentor and ADICAY.
After project completion, the Peugeot Center continues site visits and communication with the partner. Engineering projects can have long-term effects on business, education, environment, and health in the community. A medical clinic held before and after installation of the water system in Setzimaaj showed a drop in water-borne illness diagnoses from 40% in 2018 to 11% in 2019. The community members also noted increased school attendance.
To provide meaningful and sustainable impact, service learning and humanitarian engineering programs must focus on trusting partnerships, mentoring relationships, and responsible project selection and completion.
Kirsten Heikkinen Dodson is an assistant professor of mechanical engineering in Lipscomb University’s College of Engineering. Her research interests focus on the connections between humanitarian engineering, engineering education, and equity and inclusion topics. This article was adapted from “The Peugeot Center Model and Mentoring Explored Through a Case Study of the Design and Installation of a Potable Water System in Guatemala with ADICAY,” in Advances in Engineering Education.
© Getty Images