Engineering for Social and Environmental Justice
The Unviersity of Western Australia is to run a Social and Environmental Justice Course for students in 2010.
Posted by Daniel Loden to Curriculum & Research, 30th October 2009, 5:16pm
The participation by EWB will consist of providing opportunities for the students to engage with local communities. Three opportunities for students to engage with communities and demonstrate provision of needs are proposed. Through this program students will develop the concept of engineers as global citizens. Social Justice students will work with high school students, engineers of the future and local communities. Students will be required to work in interdisciplinary teams of 3-4 to undertake one of the following activities.
High School Outreach
EWB runs a high school outreach program where volunteers visit schools and complete interactive lessons around social justice issues such as water, sanitation and climate change. Students would be required to research one of these topics, update the existing curriculum, explain how the changes they have made will meet the learning needs of the participants, and quantify the behaviour change affected. The students will be required to present their modified workshop at a local high school.
EWB Challenge
The EWB Challenge is a 1st year engineering course where students develop an awareness of issues of sustainability, environmental and social impact, ethics and issues faced in developing nations. Social Justice student participants would be required to determine what knowledge EWB Challenge students would need to help them understand the course, assess existing workshops and either adapt an existing workshop or create a new workshop to present to the students. The participants would be required to deliver these workshops in August each year.
PC’s for Refugees
EWB WA Chapter currently runs a PCs for refugees program. This involves a volunteer over the course of 6 to 12 months undertaking weekly tutorials with a refugee in need of computer skills. The student would be required to undertake an interview to ensure they meet acceptance criteria, attend the weekly lessons and teach the refugee PC skills. Once the lesson plan is complete students will be required to identify how the lessons supported the refugee and what future benefits will be achieved from the program. There are limited positions available in this program and female tutors are encouraged to apply.
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