Overview

The EWB Undergraduate Research Program connects EWB and its community partners to students, universities and research expertise on collaborative research projects focused on the self-identified needs and challenges of communities. This provides additional research capability and resources for communities, and access to education, knowledge and technology. In turn it engages students, to gain an understanding of the social, cultural and environmental responsibilities of engineering through the impact and application of appropriate technology and development practice in the global community.

Each year students entering their final year are invited to complete a project with EWB as part of their university studies. EWB selects students to work on projects with specific community partners. Each student is assisted by an EWB advisor or mentor in addition to their academic supervisor. Research work is integrated into university programs to ensure course credit and academic supervision for students involved.

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Objectives

The Program sits within research on development, appropriate technology and sustainability in Australia and the Asia-Pacific. Direct objectives of the Undergraduate Research Program are:

• Research on immediate and long term community needs.
• Facilitate the exchange and transfer of ideas, experience, skills, technology and resources between EWB, project partners and Australian research institutes.
• Expose undergraduate students to real world issues and challenges, to further develop their skills and experience.
• Provide a framework for direct, practical implementation of outcomes, with potential application to Australian contexts, to encourage additional research and development.
• Develop a database of research, relevant publications, institutions, conferences and resources.
• Build the capacity and experience of EWB, its members and partners.
• Encourage and facilitate university engagement in community development.

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Approach

This Program provides EWB and students a structured framework in which to study real world challenges, focused on EWB’s community partners.  The Program is undertaken within the ideas of EWB’s vision and mission, and partners on the Program will actively pursue this philosophy:

• The Program enhances the sustainable development of the partner community. The research must be:

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• directly related to a community identified need.
• ­recognised by local communities and partners as a legitimate research need currently beyond their resources and capacity.

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• The partner community receives intellectual and practical benefits from the project.
• Practical implementation of the research must be a desired and realistic outcome from the project.
• Research is undertaken as a collaboration between the community, the Australian research student and Australian partner organisations.  The community is actively engaged in the research program via a partnership.
  • Any partner organisations and local universities involved have the desire and the capacity to transfer new knowledge to other communities.
• The Australian university receives intellectual, and potentially practical, benefits from the program.
• The student is exposed to real-world challenges to provide experience for their professional and personal development.

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