This study aims to identify how universities within Australia and New Zealand represent Humanitarian Engineering (HumEng) through the delivery of curriculum. HumEng is an emerging field of engineering, typically aimed towards sustainable design and helping those in crisis. However, further development and professional recognition has been slowed by lack of consensus on specifics related to its role and definition. This study reviews the literature related to this debate to develop an understanding of the problem along with potential solutions. Then, a search for institutions that deliver HumEng curriculum is conducted, along with an identification of the subject offered. A keyword analysis is conducted with these subject outlines to identify the key themes covered by the various institutions. This analysis is then used to identify what consensus, or lack thereof, exists and how that relates to some of the definitions in the literature. It was found that 28% of Australian and New Zealand institutions delivered HumEng curriculum in some format, along with thirteen common themes. Only five of these themes were generally accepted by at least 85% of the 13 host institutions: humanitarian aid, cultural sensitivity, problem solving, communication, and sustainability. Resultingly, it was found that there is a distinct lack of consensus within universities on which themes are important for the delivery of HumEng. Additionally, even the themes that are generally accepted amongst universities do not seem to correlate to definitions put forward by the academic literature. This provides further evidence towards the inconsistencies that plague the topic development along with conversations about its place within the greater engineering sphere. Therefore, there is an important need for a unified model of HumEng that can be readily adopted by educational institutions, based on practical requirements and academic literature.

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A Review of Humanitarian Engineering Delivery in Australasia

  • Hope Finn,
  • Claire Skipper,
  • Shameen Jinadasa,
  • Benjamin Taylor

摘要

This study aims to identify how universities within Australia and New Zealand represent Humanitarian Engineering (HumEng) through the delivery of curriculum. HumEng is an emerging field of engineering, typically aimed towards sustainable design and helping those in crisis. However, further development and professional recognition has been slowed by lack of consensus on specifics related to its role and definition. This study reviews the literature related to this debate to develop an understanding of the problem along with potential solutions. Then, a search for institutions that deliver HumEng curriculum is conducted, along with an identification of the subject offered. A keyword analysis is conducted with these subject outlines to identify the key themes covered by the various institutions. This analysis is then used to identify what consensus, or lack thereof, exists and how that relates to some of the definitions in the literature. It was found that 28% of Australian and New Zealand institutions delivered HumEng curriculum in some format, along with thirteen common themes. Only five of these themes were generally accepted by at least 85% of the 13 host institutions: humanitarian aid, cultural sensitivity, problem solving, communication, and sustainability. Resultingly, it was found that there is a distinct lack of consensus within universities on which themes are important for the delivery of HumEng. Additionally, even the themes that are generally accepted amongst universities do not seem to correlate to definitions put forward by the academic literature. This provides further evidence towards the inconsistencies that plague the topic development along with conversations about its place within the greater engineering sphere. Therefore, there is an important need for a unified model of HumEng that can be readily adopted by educational institutions, based on practical requirements and academic literature.