Taking HEED within the Context of Peace Education : Grand Challenges Scholars Program’s Curricular Focus for Peace

摘要

Millions of people contend with considerable challenges due to limited essential resources that humanitarian engineering addresses. From drinking straws that protect against waterborne diseases to solar-powered incubators to assistive educational technology to environmentally-safe temporary housing for hurricane survivors, humanitarian engineering experiences and designs are prime examples of interventions which act locally to create possibilities of life-changing opportunities by: (a) breaking cycles of poverty and inequities through education, (b) ameliorating detrimental health conditions and addressing issues of limited food and access to clean water, (c) creating alternatives to inadequate shelter, (d) and reconsidering innovative alternatives for deficient energy conditions all of which citizens of the world have endured for hundreds of years. Engineering students need to be effective as 21st century learners and leaders who explore technical solutions as well as complex aspects of community development and co-created designs that pertain to peace. This paper aims to provide insight into understanding approaches to teaching Peace Education within the context of humanitarian engineering that can be integrated into current engineering curricula via the Grand Challenges Scholars Program.