In this episode of the Humanitarian Engineering Podcast, we explore the groundbreaking work of the MIT Senseable City Lab in gathering and analysing data within informal settlements. The Lab’s research pushes the boundaries of urban science by using innovative sensing technologies and participatory methods to better understand the dynamics of urban communities.
In this episode, Michele Di Marco from Téchne WHO shares his insights on developing Infectious Disease Treatment Modules (IDTMs) and the Health Emergency Facility (HEF) providing rapid deployable, easily transportable, extendable, self-contained and self-sufficient treatment centre for infectious diseases. He also highlights the importance of collaborating with academia, and explains the various projects he is conducting with UT students.
In this episode, Thomas Groen, Programme Director of the MSc in Spatial Engineering, and Peter Chemweno, Programme Director of the MSc in Humanitarian Engineering, discuss the vision behind each programme, their unique approaches, and where their paths cross.
Visit the official websites of the MSc in Humanitarian Engineering and the MSc in Spatial Engineering to dive deeper into each programme.
On this episode of the Humanitarian Engineering Podcast, we welcome Norden Wangchuk and Ngawang Chojey from Jigme Namgyel Engineering College, Royal University of Bhutan. They discuss their collaboration with CSOs on sustainable community projects focused on waste management and the vital role of cultural appropriateness in combining traditional and innovative values to build earthquake-resilient houses. Tune in to explore how engineering solutions can drive positive change in local communities while respecting cultural heritage.
In this episode, the Humanitarian Engineering group interviews Dr. Eefje Hendriks, an Assistant Professor in Disaster Resilience and Humanitarian Assistance at the University of Twente's ITC faculty. Eefje shares her insights on Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Resilience, emphasising how underserved communities can more effectively recover from disasters. She also highlights the crucial role of careful listening before taking action.
In this episode, Zikambiyani talks about her past experiences working with rural communities in Zambia, the challenges of co-designing with different community groups, and her reasons for starting a PhD project at the University of Twente on the topic of design for social justice in humanitarian engineering.
How to learn to create an impact in underserved communities as students? Teodora Citia and Mariam Diarra talked about their BSc thesis and internship assignments they had carried on in Nepal and Madagascar. How to work with the communities from a socio-technical standpoint.
In this episode, the Humanitarian Engineering group talked with Arash Kargar, a consultant and trainer with years of experience in capacity building for refugees in Jordan and Afghanistan
He shared a few practical examples of why shifting focus from only supporting soft skills development to changing local community beliefs and identities can positively impact developmental work, and how this can supported through neuro-linguistic programming. We also discussed the need to understand local communities before implementing solutions for them.
The Humanitarian Engineering Research Group at the University of Twente reflects on SDG1 - No Poverty, discussing where we stand right now regarding achievement and the priority to move forward.
In this episode, the Humanitarian Engineering group talked with Dr. Cheryl De Boer, Climate Change Center coordinator at the University of Twente.
We talk about how climate change is affecting the most marginalised and underserved communities and the possible cooperation opportunities between the Center and Humanitarian Engineering group.
In this episode, the Humanitarian Engineering group talked with Dr. Godliver Owomugisha from Busitema University in Uganda about working with the local farming community.
We talk about her experience working with smallholders on the topic of image recognition of crop diseases. Challenges when working with the farmer community and local structures have also been covered.
In this episode, the Humanitarian Engineering group covered many interesting topics with Amy Sarch, Associate Provost for Academic Affairs, and Jeff Cooker, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, at Shenandoah University.
We talked about the possible interaction between the Colleges of Arts and Sciences and the master in Humanitarian Engineering.
Which ways of connecting liberal arts education to humanitarian engineering education?
In this episode, the Humanitarian Engineering group covered many interesting topics with Ilaria Carrara Cagni, Managing Innovation Research and Partnerships at Siemens. We talked about the importance of intercultural competencies and sustainable innovations. We also talked about the Tec for Sustainability Campaign where we met Ilaria. If you want to read more about this year´s campaign, visit ecosystem.siemens.com/techforsustainability.
The Humanitarian Engineering group visited three countries in East Africa and recorded a podcast episode about our guests' experiences working with communities in those countries. For the podcast, we have been joined by 5 guests, Dr. Ildephonse Nibikora and George Kilama from the Faculty of Engineering and Technology of Busitema University in Uganda. Dr. Kinde Anlay and Prof. Ancha Venkata Ramayya, both are faculty staff members at Jimma University in Ethiopia. Dr. Simon Marandu from the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering department of Dar es Salaam University in Tanzania.
In this episode, the Humanitarian Engineering group speaks with Janke Maat and Allard Braakhuis, alumni of the student association called WOT which tests and designs affordable technologies for use in developing countries. We talk about the international projects that they were involved in, what surprised them most when working with local communities, and how somebody can join the WOT. Visit the WOT website to learn more about their activities and watch their Youtube videos.
In this episode, the Humanitarian Engineering group speaks with Dr. Ayat Nashwan, Head of the Department of Sociology at the University of Sharjah. We talk about a joint project on refugee education, the Edubox, developed at the University of Twente and currently being used in Jordan to facilitate refugee education, and the unique challenges of working with refugees, especially the most vulnerable women.
In this episode, the Humanitarian Engineering Group talks to three vice deans for education from the University of Twente, Prof. Mascha van der Voort from the Engineering Technology faculty, Prof. Ciano Aydin from Behaviour, Management and Social Science faculty, and Prof. Victor Jetten Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation. We discuss the importance of humanitarian engineering education and why the world needs more engineers that can work in the complex socio-economical contexts of underserved communities.
In this episode, the Humanitarian Engineering Group talks to Prof. Ochieng, Head of Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Imperial College of London. We discuss his work on navigation and wayfinding systems for the ageing and visually impaired, his take on humanitarian engineering and the importance of culture, and his achievements for the Sustainable Urban Economic Development program in Kenya.
In this episode we introduce the Humanitarian Engineering initiative of the University of Twente. In this series we talk about Humanitarian Engineering actions and their importance to society.