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Social Responsibility through Humanitarian Engineering in International Partnerships (UK - Brazil)
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Coventry University, in particular, the Faculty of Engineering, Environment and Computing approached Brazil as one of the countries with more potential in terms of growth and collaborative activity in international research, as well as internationalisation of the curriculum.
Within the Faculty offer, disciplines such as Oil & Gas, Mechanical Engineering, Motorsport or Games Technology were areas of interest; however, the unique Humanitarian Engineering area awoke the highest interest from several Brazilian Universities.
Coventry University defines Humanitarian Engineering as being about using engineering and computing in a culturally sensitive and sustainable way to address issues that limit opportunities and development in communities. It can be applied on local, national or international level and is not necessarily restricted to be a reaction to a disaster or crisis.
The Humanitarian Engineering Team at Coventry University is one of the founding partners of UNESCO UNTWIN Network in Humanitarian Engineering, an international platform for intercultural dialogue that examines the key areas where and how, engineering and IT can be used to achieve development targets, with a particular focus on engineering and IT education.
The “Centro de Estudos Sociedade e Tecnologia” (CEST) from the University of São Paulo and the Centro Universitario da FEI are our two key Brazilian partners working on Humanitarian Engineering with the Faculty.
Recently the consortium has submitted a project proposal to Newton Fund (British Council) and FAPESP in the Researcher Links Workshop call to organise a symposium entitled: “Smart systems and technology for humanitarian disaster prevention, mitigation and remediation”.
In addition to this, Coventry and FEI are developing a distance learning course about Humanitarian Engineering, as a key initiative in internationalisation for both countries, it is intended that students from Brazil and UK participate on a joint online project, seminars, field trip and a local community project.
The first part of the session will focus on the concept of Humanitarian Engineering in CU and the introduction to Brazilian HE institutions, identification of current projects in this area and collaborative academic and research activity planned and developed to date with both institutions.
In the UK but also the Brazilian context, Social Responsibility is at the core of Humanitarian Engineering projects and initiatives, the main interest topics will be analysed in each of the geographical areas.
The second part will show the internationalisation process for CU, USP and FEI in this specific area, the different initiatives and progression, as well as the expansion plans. As specified above, currently international research through the Newton fund is pursued by this university consortium, as well as other internationalisation initiatives, including online projects and exchanges involving students from the UK and Brazil.
Authors:
• Miss Lidia Bombin Martinez, International Operations Manager, Faculty of Engineering, Environment and Computing, Coventry University.
• Dr Anh Tran, Senior Lecturer in Humanitarian Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Environment and Computing, Coventry University.
• Dr Elizabeth Miles, Senior Lecturer in Humanitarian Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Environment and Computing, Coventry University.
• Dr Rodrigo Filev Maia, Associate Professor, Computer Science Department, Centro Universitario da Fei.
• Prof Dr Edison Spina, International Committee Member, Universidade de São Paulo - Engineering School.
Author(s):
Miss Lidia Bombin Martinez
Coventry University, Faculty of Engineering, Environment and Computing.
United Kingdom
Prof Edison Spina
University of Sao Paulo
Brazil
Prof Rodrigo Filev
Centro Universitario da FEI
Brazil