Twitter chat: Socially-minded Engineers (with guest from Engineers Without Borders Canada)

  Welcome back to the Big Beacon twitter chat, where we explore ideas and community relevant to the transformation of engineering education every week.  Look for hashtag #BigBeacon every Wednesday at 8 pm EST.

We have an exciting lineup of guest moderators and topics for the fall semester, starting off with our discussion with Sal Alajek, B.Eng., Portfolio Manager at Engineers Without Borders Canada, which will be held on Wednesday August 28th at 8 pm EST.

From ewb.ca:

Socially minded engineers bring great value: We believe in an engineering profession that is better aware of its potential for positive impact on the world, and is better equipped to bring about that change.

“In today’s interconnected and most complicated world, we need to confirm the raison d’etre of the engineering profession, which is to adapt science to the benefit of all Humankind.” – Kamel Ayadi

Since 2007 Engineers Without Borders Canada has championed a concept called ‘Global Engineering‘.  An excerpt from the Global Engineering mission document:

We see unrealized potential in the engineering profession to contribute positively in the world. The world today is facing major challenges, but is also on the forefront of major change. Many of the glaring social hurdles the world faces today, such as food security, access to clean water, and extreme global poverty, have become incredibly complex and interconnected. These problems are not new, and neither are the approaches global society has to solving them. But one thing is certain; our past approaches have not met our expectations in bringing about the innovative solution that we want to see to solve these global challenges. The power of engineers’ insights into the root causes of problems and their innovations to address those problems should go well beyond just the technical.

How can engineers (students, practicing professionals and educators alike) can participate in bringing the engineering profession into solving the world’s most complex and important problems?  Why does it matter?  Where should we start?

Join us along with @salalajek from Engineers Without Borders Canada at 8 pm EST on twitter (hashtag #BigBeacon) for an inspiring and thought-provoking conversation.