Where There Is No Engineer

We are living in times of unprecedented social, environmental and technical challenges. We need to think, act and interact without borders. Global warming and the impacts of climate change are accelerating at pace and we are headed towards a 4:10 world by the end of this century. A world of 4 degrees warming and 10 billion people. The uncertainties of climate change together with challenges in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will demand new approaches from graduates. Professionals will be required to identify, define and solve problems at the boundaries of traditional disciplines.
“Where There Is No Engineer – Designing for Community Resilience” is a design initiative coordinated by Engineers Without Borders (EWB) Ireland and the Development Technology in the Community (DTC) Research Group in TU Dublin.
The “Where There Is No Engineer” design initiative is widely acknowledged as a very successful educational initiative. The program won an Engineers Ireland Excellence in Education Award in 2017 and was nominated a second time in 2019. Huge thanks to all our WTINE sponsors; Bentley, Irish Aid and Arup.



2020 Winner
Black Soldier Fly Farm
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2019 Winner
Chaleur
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2018 Winner
TIDE Toolkit
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2017 Winner
LifeLid
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2016 Winner
Biochar Kiln
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2015 Winner
Modified Airdrop System
VIEW PROJECT
2020 Winner
Black Soldier Fly Farm
VIEW PROJECT
2019 Winner
Chaleur
VIEW PROJECT
2018 Winner
TIDE Toolkit
VIEW PROJECT
2017 Winner
LifeLid
VIEW PROJECT
2016 Winner
Biochar Kiln
VIEW PROJECT
2015 Winner
Modified Airdrop System
VIEW PROJECT
What is Where There Is No Engineer (WTINE)?
“Where There Is No Engineer – Designing for Community Resilience” is a design initiative coordinated by Engineers Without Borders (EWB) Ireland and the Development Technology in the Community (DTC) Research Group in TU Dublin.
Each year we work with one of our development partners around the world to present participants with the opportunity to design creative solutions to real world problems.
It provides participants with the opportunity to learn about design, teamwork and communication through real, inspiring, sustainable and cross-cultural development projects.
The program design is not limited to any particular discipline and contains a number of innovative teaching and learning methods.
Why Take Part in WTINE?
- Creative and enterprising
- Effective communicators
- Globally engaged
- Active leaders
- Committed to continuous learning
“Where There Is No Engineer” is a design program to achieve the above learning outcomes.
How is WTINE delivered?
The program is open to technical and non-technical disciplines. The program can be delivered within a specific course module, through one of our EWB College Branches or with a company as a unique CSR initiative for employees.
EWB and the DTC Research Group hold a series of workshops with participants including a:
- Launch Workshop
- Sustainable Development Goals Workshop
- Design Review Workshop(s)
The best teams from each participating college are invited to participate in the National Finals. The overall project winner has the opportunity to travel to the program country to work with our development partners. There are also a number of innovation awards to allow researchers to develop their concepts further.
Due to the Covid 19 pandemic, all workshops are now delivered online with internships taking place remotely. EWB and DTC can provide a range of online learning resources to assist students.
When is WTINE run?
The design initiative is delivered in a flexible manner to suit your needs. It can be run over one or two college semesters with National Finals taking place in May/June every year. Participation in the initiative opens in October every year.
Who runs WTINE : Meet the Facilitators

Emma Brown
Program Manager, EWB

Liam McCarton
Director of EWB, Founder of the DTC Research Group & Lecturer at TU Dublin

Declan Alcock
Director of EWB, Executive Director at Varming Consulting Engineers and Chairman of the Irish Green Building Council

Elaine Doyle
Director of EWB and Coastal Programmes Officer, Clean Coasts, An Taisce Environmental Education Unit




The seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can seem overwhelming at first glance, we know this! We aim to introduce the Sustainable Development Goals in an accessible way and encourage you to critically analyse how or if they can be achieved in our current global systems.
We encourage our WTINE students to think about how their design will contribute to the SDGs and to consider how they themselves can contribute more broadly to the achievement of sustainable development in their future careers.
WTINE Downloads






