Where There Is No engineer

WHERE THERE IS
NO ENGINEER

“At Field Ready we’re always looking for good ideas and innovative ways to solve real world problems in the humanitarian sector. The EWB Innovation Academy gives students the opportunity to develop solutions and test them with organisations like Field Ready. We have been very impressed with the level of skills and knowledge that participants in the program have demonstrated and we’re currently looking to trial production of a product in Nepal.”

Pradita PradhanProgram Coordinator, Field Ready Nepal

“Our second year undergraduates take part in the “Where There Is No Engineer” competition as part of their Engineering and Environment module. They work in groups to develop their ideas on energy and water themes. It is an excellent project for the students and broadens their thinking, where they are not just developing a sustainable technology but also an understanding of how it will be used by communities globally.”

Dr Sarah McCormackAssociate Professor, School of Engineering, TCD

“Winning an Innovation Award for my project Crutch Kit in the WTINE competition, I experienced for the first time what it was like to have people see real value in my work and my ideas.”

Conall CaseyFourth Year Product Design student, NCAD

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: Irish Aid and Engineers Ireland.

What is Where There Is No Engineer (WTINE)?

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.

In 2021, EWB Ireland has created a new strand to the WTINE competition: Design Opportunities. Our design opportunity is an Ecosan Sanitation Opportunity, focused on frugal WASH innovation. We are working with Indian partners FIN, Friend In Need India Trust, on this opportunity for the location of Kameswaram in India but the technology is valid for many countries. It links closely with the WTINE theme of self supply water and sanitation but also links with our themes of climate resilient infrastructure, community participatory health and food security.

Our current location based challenge is focused on India and our partner in Kameswaram, FIN”

Why Take Part in WTINE?

The uncertainties of climate change along with challenges in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will demand new approaches. Graduates will be required to identify, define and solve problems at the boundaries of traditional disciplines. This will require graduates to be:

“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:

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.

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

The WTINE program encourages participants to look at global challenges in a different way and design potential solutions suitable to a specific location and community. They have the opportunity to work with EWB’s development partners in the Global South to learn more about the community, the culture and how their project can positively impact the challenges faced in the region. The program essentially teaches participants the importance of simple, low-tech solutions that utilise local materials and can be easily implemented in many locations and by different communities.

Cristina García Santos
Program Manager of EWB

Life in a post climate change & post covid world will require graduates to think, act and interact differently. This generation needs to be able to think sideways. The flexibility of the resources and structure of the WTINE program empowers lecturers to use the initiative as a vehicle for developing a variety of skills across a number of different disciplines, levels and regions. This initiative provides a range of flexible learning modules to support students to invent and innovate, not to copy, replicate or play it safe. The innovations developed by students within the program has had an incredible impact to date in supporting local communities in Africa and Asia to improve their ability to meet the daily challenges they face.

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

The WTINE program brings a unique dimension to engineering education. It allows students to engage proactively with global challenges, in a real-life rather than theoretical context, while developing experience in teamwork, communications and ethics and interacting with communities from across the world. This helps develop more globally aware graduates who are much sought after by employers, and they will carry this formative experience throughout their careers which will benefit both the engineering profession and society as a whole.

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

WTINE allows students to hone their engineering and design skills for real world situations. It challenges them to think outside their world and take into account parameters that they usually wouldn’t consider. Importantly, it brings their practical and technical knowledge into a real world context with possible life changing results. I feel WTINE can allow young minds to know that engineering and design can be more than just about widgets, it is about people. It teaches the students about engineering with heart and that can have a powerful effect.

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

COMPLETED PROJECTS

COMPETITION SUBMISSIONS

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COMMUNITIES HELPED

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.