Understanding humanitarian works through the lens of engineering

2008 IEEE Humanitarian Workshop

"Understanding humanitarian works through the lens of engineering"
Saturday, October 18, 2008, at Boston University.

Jointly held with IEEE GOLD and EWB-USA

* Synopsis Many of us are fortunate to live in a relatively secure environment where we can pursue education and dreams. Far away from most of us - in Africa, or even close to home like New Orleans in the United States or Sichuan in China, where catastrophes struck recently, there is a tremendous need for humanitarian aid. Engineers can play an active role in bringing hope, relieving pain, restoring livelihood, and accelerating economic progress in these areas through appropriate use of technology.

IEEE aims to develop a platform to create awareness among the younger engineers and students on how we can use our engineering knowledge and skills to bless communities. Therefore, IEEE partners with a number of organizations, such as Engineers Without Borders - USA and United Nations Foundation to put together a 1-day workshop. At the end of the workshop,
attendees will be more informed on how humanitarian organizations use technology to positively impact the world we live in. Eventually, we hope attendees will obtain a more holistic understanding of how they can play a part in humanitarian efforts, and even be inspired to do so at the end of the workshop.

* Tentative Program
Keynote speeches:
- Humanitarian projects and technology
- How organizations stay involved with humanitarian outreach
- Research and field projects: case studies
Hands-on session:
- Solving problems faced in the field
Booth visits:
- Connect with humanitarian organizations and project leaders
Lunch and refreshments will be provided

* Organizers
- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a non-profit organization established to foster technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity. Today, IEEE has more than 375,000 members worldwide, sponsors more than 850 conferences annually, and has nearly 1,300 standards under development. IEEE Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD),
the young professional entity of IEEE, collaborates with Region 1 (Northeastern USA) and Boston Section to host this workshop. http://www.ieee.org, http://www.ieee.org/gold

- Engineers Without Borders - USA (EWB-USA) is a non-profit humanitarian organization established to partner with developing communities worldwide in order to improve their quality of life. The partnerships involve the implementation of sustainable engineering projects, while involving and training internationally responsible engineers and engineering students.
http://www.ewb-usa.org

* Main Speakers
- Mr Mitul Shah, Senior Director of UN Foundation
- Ms Colleen O'Holleran, Mr Seth Kassels, and Ms Rosemary Powers, Senior Managers of EWB-USA
* IEEE GOLD Humanitarian Fellowship
Sponsorship is available for attendees who desire to participate in humanitarian projects. Interested attendees may compete for the IEEE GOLD Humanitarian Fellowship. 10 fellowships (each worth up to US$3000) will be awarded to applicants who fulfill the selection criteria. The details of the criteria will be provided at a later date. For more information, please
contact Darrel Chong at dchong@ieee.org.

Humanitarian projects corresponding to each of the 10 fellowships will also be made known to attendees prior to the workshop. Recipients of the fellowships will take part in the humanitarian project that they have chosen at the time of the application. At the end of the project, recipients will share with IEEE the learning and experiences gained from being involved in grass roots humanitarian work.

* Hands-on Session
- Prizes for innovative solutions
Problem solving is a norm for EWB-USA's field project teams. More often than not, the best solutions are not only effective, but also simple to implement and easy to learn. To allow the attendees to have a feel of solving some field-related issues, EWB-USA will be designing a mock session based on completed projects. The workshop will get attendees to brainstorm
and propose solutions to challenges that are faced by EWB-USA. Teams that
come up with the most innovative solutions will win prizes.
* Registration
- Free for IEEE and EWB-USA members
- $15 for non-members ($10 for registration before Sept 21)
- Anyone who registers before Sept 21 will be eligible to one of ten gifts
- Registration closes on Oct 11
For registration, please go to
http://www.ewh.ieee.org/reg/1/gold

Contact
humanitarian@ieee.org