Engineers Without Borders (UK)
Engineers Without Borders (EWB) UK (or EWB-UK) is a UK-based registered charity and NGO. Its vision is a world where everyone has access to the engineering they need for a life free from poverty.[1]
Engineers Without Borders UK works with the education sector and partner organisations to inspire and support people to use science, technology and engineering to alleviate poverty. It is a membership based organisation with affiliated branches around the UK, primarily within universities and engineering firms. There are also more informal networks that operate on a regional basis.[2]
Mission, Aims & Approach
Engineers Without Borders UK's mission is to empower human development through engineering.
It currently approaches this by concentrating on three interlinked areas of work:
- Informing and educating students, particularly those studying engineering, about the role that engineering can play in alleviating poverty;
- supporting engineers to use their technical skills to build the technical capacity of local partner organisations working on development projects;
- influencing a more globally responsible engineering profession by creating 'agents of change' who are aware of the social context in which we all operate;
Organisation and Structure
Engineers Without Borders UK is a membership based registered charity. It has a small number of employees, augmented by volunteers, who head up the national organisation and a large number of member groups around the UK:
EWB-UK National Team (elements of which have previously been referred to as the National Executive). The National Team designs, resources and coordinates all of Engineers Without Borders UK’s initiatives and implements the organisation’s strategy. Comprising salaried staff, who are based in central London, and volunteers from across the UK, it is also responsible for ensuring compliance with all financial and legal regulations as delegated by the Board of Trustees.
EWB-UK Member Groups. The Member Groups are broadly divided into two type; networks and branches. Networks are divided into a number of geographic regions and organise speaker events, debates, social functions and fundraising opportunities. They also provide technical assistance and mentorship to the student branches in their geographical area. There are over 30 branches, mostly at UK universities but also some within engineering firms who are affiliated to Engineers Without Borders UK by a legally binding affiliation agreement that grants them use of the Engineers Without Borders UK brand, logo and name for approved activities, including taking part in or delivering some projects, programmes and initiatives, and fundraising for the charity.
Engineers Without Borders UK is a company limited by guarantee (registered in England and Wales, number 4856607) and a registered charity (registered in England and Wales, number 1101849). Its registered office is Engineers Without Borders UK, The Foundry, 17 Oval Way, London, SE11 5RR, United Kingdom.
History
Engineers Without Borders UK was started by a group of students at Cambridge University in 2001, at the original suggestion of Parker Mitchell (co-founder of EWB Canada) who was then doing an MPhil in Sustainable Development at the university. Sarah Hindle (Engineering undergrad) and Richard Sargeant (Political Science undergrad) were the first directors and recruited and ran the executive.
In 2002, with the help of an initial £10,000 donation from Anglo American, Engineers Without Borders UK arranged its first overseas placement in Pondicherry, India, with an organisation called ORSED. The first large scale training course also took place in 2002 at Clare Farm outside Cambridge.
Current Initiatives
In the years since 2002, under a number of different directors, the scope and nature of Engineers Without Borders UK's work has expanded and changed. Technical international placements with partner organisations are still arranged each year and member groups are now also able to undertake their own international project work, subject to an affiliation process, under the 'Member Led Partnerships Programme'.
Engineers Without Borders UK's work with the education sector now accounts for almost half of its activities. The EWB Challenge, delivered in collaboration with EWB Australia, is a design module that is embedded in undergraduate engineering courses. During the 2014-15 academic year it was part of the curriculum at 25 universities around the UK and Ireland, reaching more than 4000 students which is approximately 15% of the entire engineering undergraduate community. This initiative is supported by the EU funded Global Dimension in Engineering Education programme that has created more than 45 chapters of supporting materials and case studies for academics to use within their teaching.
EWB-UK branches and networks also deliver Outreach workshops in schools and at events around the country. These interactive sessions aim to inspire schoolchildren about the role of science, technology and engineering in the world today, particularly within the context of international development.
References
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