It is quite common for Academics and professionals from more theoretical studies background, such as sociology, philosophy & political studies, to use their knowledge and qualifications outside work to help communities and individuals to gain insight in social issues but also to provide lectures and workshops that assist attendees to achieve more critical thinking and come up with ideas that may help in social change.
So why can’t Engineers, who come up with solutions to problems daily, use their knowledge outside of their work environment to help achieve social change? E4E can cooperate with shelters, and community spaces to provide technical knowledge to marginalised groups (homeless people, victims of domestic violence, addicts, ex conducts, etc) helping them with job search and be more equipped for society.
Engineers can offer a variety of technical knowledge in computing, electrical, mechanical and building. They also bridge the gap in life skills that other academics and professions may miss such as planning, project management and critical thinking.
E4E will collaborate with the marginalised groups themselves, social workers and charities to come up with a program based on their needs. E4E could also collaborate with groups such as Street Kitchen, that provide food to homeless people, to increase engagement and run workshop events.
As the E4E program gains a larger impact it will collaborate with EWB and their partners to run workshops style modular courses to reward certificates to the attendees.
Engineers for Everyone will give communities and marginalised groups access to Engineers ready to help through mentoring and guidance to projects and individuals whoever they may be. E4E is ready to show that engineering can be fun and engaging and ready to help the communities around them.
Team:
Charlie Wheatley
Kenneth Gibson-Chhetri
John Kelsey
Thetis Pantou
César Lucio
Hi Kenneth, Thank you for sending the document. I have gone in and left some comments for you guys to consider before the final submission on Monday. Let me know what you think and if you are meeting again and want me to join in briefly. I am here to help, so let me know if you need anything. Best of luck on this final stretch.
Andres
Hi Andres,
Thanks for mentoring this project. We had another meeting last night and began created some of the slides for the video presentation. Some of these are place holders and will obviously change. If you wouldn't mind having a look at some point that would be great.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1zwSdaM7eK2tgQyeFB_nONKjelWfiy-fB38exKmlJTyI/edit?usp=sharing
Hi Thetis and team 005, I am Andres Bustamante, your mentor for this challenge, pleasure to meet you all. Good job with the concept note, I think the idea of providing engineering support to marginalised groups can be very valuable and impactful. I also like the idea behind building a community of engineers that are willing to volunteer time for social causes. I have some feedback and questions for the team to think about as you develop this idea further: - Your team speaks of the benefits engineers can bring to marginalised groups, but have you thought about how engineers themselves can also benefit from this type of experience? Or is it just one-way knowledge sharing? Can this engagement help engineers see first hand some of the challenges these groups go through and understand their perspective? Can this help engineers be more responsible in their day to day? - What did you find out about existing ideas/solutions? Did you consider expanding on these within your own proposal? EWB-UK used to send volunteer engineers for placements with partner organizations, how does this differ? - Have you considered the costs of implementing your proposal? How could it be funded? I know the engineers would volunteer their time free of charge, but there is admin staff hired to generate these engagement opportunities, how will/will they get paid? How are these costs going to be covered? - How are your target groups chosen? Who decides who gets the help? How do you prioritize one group from the other? How are these groups involved in the development of the program? Remember the project has to be inclusive, and not only at the end, but also throughout the development process. - In the marking criteria there is a section for "Regenerative". How can this concept be built into the idea? - At this point it seems like the program covers a variety of support activities that can be provided by engineers, but how far does this stretch? Is there a limitation to the support you can offer beneficiaries? Great start and a very altruistic and valuable idea, but how can you make sure it is sustainable in the long-run? Remember to review all the marking criteria and consider how the idea/project addresses each of those areas. Also keep in mind that this challenge aims not only to make sure the less fortunate have access to globally responsible engineering skills, but also to foster responsibility into engineering as a career/industry. I will be checking this platform daily to see if you have any more questions or want to bounce ideas off me. You can also find me on Slack during the day (9am-5pm Peru time). If you prefer to organize a quick call to talk about the development of the idea, I am happy to try to coordinate a time (timezones permitting). Looking forward to seeing how this idea develops. Best,
Andres Bustamante Co-founder and Director of EcoSwell