The ANU is one of the leaders of humanitarian engineering education in Australia for positive impact and human wellbeing. It was the first university to offer a dedicated humanitarian engineering elective and had students on the very first EWB Humanitarian Design Summit in January 2015. Educators such as Jeremy Smith have been recognised through awards including a national Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT) citation for leadership in nurturing the field in Australia. Much of the research in engineering at ANU has applications in humanitarian contexts, ranging from solar energy for electricity, drones for disaster response and planning, and mobile phone based health technologies. The ANU is a world leading university in development studies, climate change and public policy, areas that are part of the broader knowledge of a humanitarian engineer.
Humanitarian Engineering Partners
We have a number of community and social-enterprise partners. These include:
Abundant Water (AW)
They are working in Laos, Nepal and Timor-Leste to provide access to clean drinking water through ceramic water filters.
Engineers Without Borders Australia (EWB)
They are working towards creating social value through engineering.
Enabler Interactive
Working to create positive social impact through innovation in training and education.
Abundant Water, Enable Development and Okra were all founded or co-founded by ANU engineering graduates, highlighting the potential of ANU engineers to create lasting and positive social change.