The University of Colorado Boulder, USA has an almost 10-year history supporting a graduate education program in Engineering for Developing Communities (EDC). This program interfaces a dynamic engineering graduate curriculum with classes and skills development specifically to bridge this engineering training to applications in lesser developed communities and non-western cultures. The program consists of a four course sequence that focuses on how engineers can work effectively in sustainable community development. Our approach promotes the integration of social, technical, economic, institutional, and environmental activities as the foundation for sustainable development. The classes include training in field work methods, global development theory and the development industry, community assessment methods, and includes an extensive field-based experience. Students are required to synthesize and integrate knowledge acquired in their coursework and other learning experiences, and to apply theory and principles in a situation of professional practice in engineering and international development. This presentation provides an overview of the ongoing EDC graduate certificate and new professional Masters of Science Degree programs at the University of Colorado Boulder. It also presents the results of a survey conducted on past and current students involved in different aspects of the graduate certificate program. The results of the survey were used to evaluate how the EDC educational experience has shaped their graduate experience and careers.
Linden, K., Javernick-Will, A., Amadei, B., Klees, R,. and Sandekian, R. (2016). “Engineering in Developing Communities: Curriculum Development around Graduate Certificate and Professional MS Programs.” Engineering Education for Sustainable Development Conference. Bruges, Belgium.