Engineering for Change (E4C) is an online platform and international community of engineers, scientists, non-governmental organizations, local community advocates and other innovators working to solve problems in sustainable global development. Their mission is to 'prepare, educate, and activate the international technical workforce to improve the quality of life of people and the planet.' The organization's founding partners are the

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing edu ...

, the

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is an American 501(c)(3) public charity professional organization for electrical engineering, electronics engineering, and other related disciplines. The IEEE has a corporate office ...

, and Engineers Without Borders USA. It is now under the umbrella of ASME's Engineering for Global Development program. Collaborators include

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...

Stiftung, The Level Market,

Autodesk Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational software corporation that provides software products and services for the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media, education, and entertainment industries. Autodesk is headquarte ...

Foundation, Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, CAWST, WFEO, ITU,

Institute of Food Technologists The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) is an international, non-profit scientific society of professionals engaged in food science, food technology, and related areas in academia, government and industry. It has more than 17,000 members from ...

, and

United Nations Major Group for Children and Youth Established in 1992, the Major Group for Children and Youth (UN MGCY) is the United Nations General Assembly mandated, official, formal and self-organised space for children and youth to contribute to and engage in certain intergovernmental and a ...

. E4C facilitates the development of affordable, locally appropriate and sustainable solutions to the most pressing humanitarian challenges and shares them freely online as a form of

open source appropriate technology Open-source appropriate technology (OSAT) is appropriate technology developed through the principles of the open-design movement. Appropriate technology is technology designed with special consideration for the environmental, ethical, cultural, s ...

. Members of the E4C community use the platform's online tools to share knowledge, research global development issues, products and services, and deepen their professional development. The organization provides services through seven channels: *The Solutions Library, a database of products that meet basic needs *Monthly webinars and academic seminars *Fellowship Program *News and analysis *Research in collaboration with external partners *Online courses in global development engineering and design *Jobs and volunteer opportunities board Information about products and services fall into eight categories on the organization's Web site, and they can include big infrastructural projects such as community water purification and bridge building, or smaller, personal technologies such as bicycle-powered electricity generators and cellphone applications for healthcare.

History

In 2009, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers created a website to pull together the disparate sources of information on appropriate technology and solutions in global development. The site aggregated information, hosted a library of often little-known technologies, and offered tools to enable collaboration among development teams worldwide. Throughout 2010, the site operated in alpha and then beta with a mostly closed group of users. A public site, at engineeringforchange.info, mirrored some of the content on the test site, but without all of its functionality. IEEE and EWB-USA signed on as partners in time for the public launch on January 4, 2011. At present, the organization has more than 70,000 members and a social media following of more than one million.

Fellowship Program

E4C trains and manages ~50 Fellows each year, working with businesses, universities, non-profits and government organizations around the world to improve their programs with technical expertise. Autodesk Foundation is an ongoing supporter of the fellowship, for example. Fellows research, optimize, and design projects that advance the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.

Impact Projects

The organization trains and matches technical experts located in dozens of countries to support research, design and other short-term projects in collaboration with other organizations. Impact Projects fall into one of three categories: Design, Research or Workflows. E4C provides management, mentorship, training, and oversight through their Fellowship program.

Solutions Library

The Solutions Library is a database of more than 1,000 products and services that meet basic needs in underserved communities. Entries are investigated and posted by the organization's staff and Fellows worldwide. The information on each entry is standardized to allow users to compare similar products to facilitate research and decision-making.

Education

Education is an important part of Engineering for Change. The Web site provides educational webinars and research seminars, as well as news, analysis, expert opinion and materials on how to design and implement solutions.

References

External links

Official website

"Connecting technical professionals with global design and engineering nonprofits and startups"
- Autodesk Foundation
"Innovate for Impact Design Challenge"
- Siemens
"Global Coalition Launches Amazon CoLab to Develop and Test Technologies to Protect the Amazon Rainforest"
- Conservation X Labs
"A Design Tool Whose Time Has Come"
- NextBillion
Innovative Banana Leaf Sanitary Pads Hit a Design Snag
- Good.is {{Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers American engineering organizations American Society of Mechanical Engineers Appropriate technology organizations Charities based in New York City Development charities based in the United States Engineering organizations Engineers Without Borders Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Mechanical engineering organizations Organizations established in 2009