engineering academic programs for hydrophilanthropy: commonalities and challenges

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Universities CoUnCil on Water resoUrCes JoUrnal of Contemporary Water researCh & edUCation

issUe 145, pages 5-29, aUgUst 2010

Engineering Academic Programs for Hydrophilanthropy: Commonalities and Challenges

Stephen Silliman1, Rabi H. Mohtar2,Kurtis G. Paterson3, and William P. Ball4

1University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN; 2Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN; 3Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI; 4Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

Abstract: This paper presents four different program models for student participation in international development that are being used by universities throughout the United States with a focus on international water resource projects. These include a service-oriented program (Engineers Without Borders at Johns Hopkins University), a senior design program (Global Design Teams at Purdue University), an extended research program (Long Term Research at the University of Notre Dame), and a graduate program affiliated with the Peace Corps (The Peace Corps Master’s International Program in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Michigan Technological University). Differences and commonalities are identified across the four models, as are the critical components, resources, and challenges which must often be addressed for the success of these types of projects. A major conclusion is that, regardless of the program model used for the experience, international experiences continue to have strong, positive impact on the engineering student and, when properly designed, on the in-country stakeholders. Keywords: international development, global engineering experiences, water resources

An emergent trend observed in higher education is that a growing number of university students are engaged in

international development. This involvement is generally through one of three approaches: 1. extracurricular activities such as individual

student participation in larger efforts by other NGOs or teams of students voluntarily banding together for “special projects” of interest,

2. university- or nationally-sponsored student organizations (e.g., Engineers for a Sustainable World, Engineers Without Borders, Engineering World Health), or

3. curricular activities such as senior design projects, research programs, and graduate programs linked to external programs such as the Peace Corps.

Such international service, learning, and research experiences in developing communities is generally recognized for the substantial benefits it can bring to students, particularly to their professional development. The perceived benefits suggest enhanced skills, knowledge, attitudes, and

identity among students, notably better teamwork, project management, public relations, and technical communications skills, increased global and societal context of work, greater intercultural awareness, and a keener sense of professional contribution to society. These experiences have been widely reported to increase involvement of under-represented groups, particularly women (e.g., Bielefeldt et al. 2009; Paterson and Fuchs 2008; Mihelcic et al. 2008; Moskal et al. 2008; Bauer et al. 2007; Qanhiyah 2005; Zitomer et al. 2003; Lackland and DeLisi 2001; Pritchard 2000). Accordingly, there has been a recent proliferation of programs for undergraduate and graduate students, including service projects, service learning opportunities, design projects focused on appropriate technologies, and research projects focused on development.

Although there is a general perception that such activities bring substantial benefit to both the students involved and the communities aided, there have to date been relatively few studies that rigorously measure potential impacts to all

stakeholders. Examples of recent assessments of impact on students and faculty can be found in Bauer et al. (2007), Borgi and Zitomer (2008), as well as in Bielefeldt et al. (2009). Studies that include impacts on partnering communities include Moskal et al. (2008) and Silliman (2009). These assessment efforts, particularly those focused on the communities, have demonstrated that impact of these activities on local populations is often difficult to assess – this raises the concern that the impacts may not always be positive, for reasons not dissimilar from those that have been previously discussed by others in a broader context (e.g., such as suggested by Easterly 2007 and Goulet 1989).

Such considerations encourage a critical reexamination of the motivation for, and impact of, student participation in projects focused on international development. The present manuscript contributes to this literature through discussion of four distinctly different programs that provide international experiences to students, as run at four universities with different motivations, histories, and levels of faculty involvement. Specifically, this paper provides an overview of international experiences for students that include volunteer undergraduate engineering service, senior-capstone design, undergraduate — graduate research efforts, and a graduate degree integrated with Peace Corps service. As a broad generalization, each of these programs presents tools for simultaneously accomplishing the parallel goals of (1) providing assistance to communities facing water resource challenges, and (2) providing students with powerful international experiences that increase their professional development and enhance their potential for leadership in addressing global water issues. A number of commonalities related to successful student projects (as measured through both the student experience and positive impact on the stakeholder population) are identified among the four programs. The paper also presents stakeholder input to these experiences, as well as challenges that have been encountered in these programs.

We divide the following discussion into two major sections. The first section describes four models for international programs within the experiences of the authors: 1. extra-curricular activities, 2. design or capstone activities,

3. undergraduate-graduate research activities, and

4. graduate programs that integrate long-term service activities.

This first section includes a description of the programs and some initial observations on the reaction of students and local stakeholders in examples of implementation of these programs. The second section focuses on identifying the commonalities observed from activities under these four programs and on the corresponding implications for both the types of experiences that are more likely to provide positive outcomes to both students and the local stakeholders, and those experiences that, in the authors’ collective experience, are less likely to lead to long-term positive outcomes.

Four International Programs

I. Extracurricular Activities: An Example from the Johns Hopkins University Student Chapter of Engineers Without Borders-USA

Engineers Without Borders–USA (EWB-USA) “is a non-profit humanitarian organization established to partner with developing communities worldwide in order to improve their quality of life. This partnership involves the implementation of sustainable engineering projects, while involving and training internationally responsible engineers and engineering students” (EWB-USA 2009). Engineers Without Borders-USA operates in a hybrid manner that encourages independent, locally-managed chapters (university or professional) to align themselves with the goals and policies of the national organization. Since its inception in 2002 over 250 chapters have emerged. In this paper, we use experiences from one program of operations at one such chapter, the Johns Hopkins University chapter of Engineers Without Borders-USA.

Within the Engineers Without Borders-USA operational model, each individual student chapter is an independent volunteer organization that reports to their university (in accordance with the rules, policies and procedures of that university), but which also signs an agreement with Engineers Without Borders-USA to “work with Engineers Without Borders-USA on Engineers

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Engineering Academic Programs for Hydrophilanthropy

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Without Borders-USA projects and to further the Engineers Without Borders-USA mission of helping disadvantaged communities improve their quality of life through the implementation of environmentally and economically sustainable engineering solutions.” Within this arrangement, Engineers Without Borders-USA agrees to “(a) assist the Chapter in the implementation of its mission and work with the Chapter to provide technical and hands-on experience to Members; (b) review volunteer projects and determine whether such projects are suitable for implementation in accordance with an established process; and (c) provide information regarding internship opportunities to Members as opportunities arise.” (EWB-USA 2009). Based on this overall structure, Engineers Without Borders student chapters have addressed a number of international projects–one example from Engineers Without Borders-USA at Johns Hopkins University is outlined below.

Student Involvement. Within the Engineers Without Borders model, engineering students take full responsibility for all aspects of their chosen project – they are guided in these efforts by a faculty advisor from their university, by professionals within the Engineers Without Borders-USA organization and its volunteer advisory committees, by other professional mentors from whom they seek advisement and whom they often involve in the work effort, and commonly by professionals at NGOs and agencies within the country of the project, and by the local community members themselves, with whom the student members are encouraged to develop a direct and lasting (minimum of five years) relationship. Team size varies by projects, but commonly ranges between five and twenty students, including both undergraduate and graduate students, and with typically a maximum of eight team members travelling to any one community at any one time.

Funding Sources in Support of the Engineers Without Borders-USA/Johns Hopkins University South Africa Program Efforts. Funding for the student projects is derived in large part through fund-raising activities of the students and especially so for their own travel costs. In the case of the Engineers Without Borders-USA/

Johns Hopkins University project selected for discussion here (irrigation assistance in rural community vegetable gardens), the funding for overseas living expenses and material costs were derived from a wide variety of external sources, including initial sponsorship from Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering, donations from the Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association and Society of Engineering Alumni, a major grant obtained through the Mondialogo Foundation, a Phase I grant from the USEPA’s P3 program, and through two different projects sponsored through The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, as combined efforts of two different South African Rotary Clubs and seven different U.S. Rotary Clubs who partnered together on an international matching grant project funded through The Rotary Foundation. As but one isolated example of cost, the program described below has had average trip costs of roughly $35,000 each for the participation of an average of 10 participants per project trip and as averaged from nine separate two- and three-week project trips conducted over the course of the past five years. Of this, roughly 40 percent was for participant air fare and was fully supported by travelers or benefactors who gave specifically to that purpose. The remaining 60 percent of costs (spent in-country) were supported by the combination of sources noted above. No costs of labor are involved in these totals, as all work was performed by students working in close collaboration with local community volunteers. Needless to say, the in-country program expenses will vary substantially with the nature of the project work. In addition, air fares are a substantially lower fraction of total costs for projects at closer locations, as with Engineers Without Borders-USA/Johns Hopkins University’s programs in Ecuador and Guatemala.

Brief Presentation of Example Project. The Engineers Without Borders-USA/Johns Hopkins University team was able to initiate its South Africa program (www.ewb.jhu.edu/southafrica-main, accessed 09-2009) in Fall 2005, primarily through the efforts of a Johns Hopkins alumnus who helped the faculty advisor develop a working relationship with a South African development worker (Mr. David Alcock) with a long history of development

Silliman, Mohtar, Paterson, and Ball8


work in KwaZulu-Natal and who was serving on the Board of Directors for a local NGO (Church Agricultural Project). As described in reports available on the Engineers Without Borders-USA- Johns Hopkins University web site, the goals of this on-going project have been to reduce the physical and time demands on community groups comprised primarily of elderly Zulu women in the communities of KwaZulu-Natal within the Valley of 1000 Hills, South Africa; many of these women must support large numbers of at-risk children owing to the extraordinarily high incidence of HIV-AIDS in this region, and must find means to transport water from local streams for use in subsidence agriculture. Initial on-site assessment of the project occurred in January 2006 and led to identification of Mr. Alcock’s ram pump design as an appropriate and viable design for further study and implementation. The “Alcock Ram Pump” is a “home built” pumping system that is constructed from locally recycled materials (including disposed car tires and batteries) and based on well known principles for applying the inertia of a flowing body of water (e.g., gravity flow from a small weir in a stream) to actively pump water up an incline without use of motors or external energy (e.g., The Farm, 2010). Ram pumps were deemed as especially appropriate solutions for this region because of the multitude of streams with reasonably steep slope and because, although the area was subject to long periods of drought (particularly in winter months), most streams maintain substantial flow throughout the year. The Alcock Ram Pump was specifically selected because of its local manufacture, low cost, and robust design: these pumping systems can be easily maintained by local communities and because they require no fuel or electricity, are sustainable over the long-term for even the very poorest of community gardeners.

Throughout the spring semester, 2006, project design, logistics, and fundraising focused on pursuing field implementation of the project during the upcoming summer. This period included efforts to improve the design of the ram pump, assess potential applications of this technology to agricultural gardening projects, and to consider the potential for transferring this technology to the local population through the involvement of staff and students from a local non-profit agricultural

preparatory school, Zakhe Agricultural College.During the summer of 2006, a group of fifteen

students from the Johns Hopkins programs in engineering, arts & sciences, and public health traveled to South Africa for initial field efforts that involved two teams of students working at two separate sites, under the combined direction of their faculty advisor (co-author W. Ball) and the ram pump designer and builder (D. Alcock). During this period, partners at Zakhe Agricultural College were developed and plans for future assessments and implementations were created. Subsequent trips to the assisted gardens have occurred in June 2007, January 2008, August 2008, January 2009, August 2009, and January 2010. These trips have revealed continued garden function throughout the period. Although the 2006 ram pump installations were still functioning well at the time of the latest visit (January 2010), the history of operation and garden growth has shown that independent community understanding and maintenance of the ram pump system was much stronger in one community than the other, as affected by a complex combination of circumstances that relate to individual personalities involved and their willingness and ability to contact Mr. Alcock or others for assistance with rare but important maintenance issues (e.g., inadvertent burning of a component during a garden fire). Building on its early experiences, Engineers Without Borders-USA/Johns Hopkins University teams have returned to South Africa multiple times to continue implementation of the ram pumps in new locations, but with increasing focus toward transferring the technology and capacity to Zakhe Agricultural College staff and students, in part through installation of a demonstration ram pump on the campus, with the goal of allowing them to assist, and ultimately replace, Mr. Alcock and his helpers in implementing, maintaining, and furthering the long-term sustainability of the ram pump systems.

Reaction by Students and Stakeholders. Assessment has been a regular focus of this project, but has been difficult to consistently maintain. In terms of the local community, formal surveys of the first groups of community gardeners were taken both prior to initial implementation and after one year of gardening activity. The Internal Review

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Board-approved survey questions (developed by a team supervised by a doctoral student in the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health) focused on the gardeners’ general health and work habits, as well as their access to sufficient food and water resources. Although results were inconclusive in many regards, they did reveal important and clear trends of improved access to food, thanks to the irrigation of major new sections of the garden, especially in winter months. These results have been analyzed and reported (Dwyer et al. 2007) for team use and may ultimately find their way to journal publication. In addition, surveys conducted on the participating students from Johns Hopkins revealed that the majority of students had a strong appreciation for having had this opportunity to apply engineering skills to real-life problems. Further, for those that traveled, the shared physical labor and other experiences with local community members were considered as some of the strongest benefits of this experience, as were the opportunities to observe the direct and tangible results of their work, in terms of an obvious benefit to the local population (pumped water). The response from South African students at Zakhe Agricultural has also been strongly positive, with the opportunity to interact with American students perhaps being the principal perceived benefit, but with the learning and application of new agricultural practices also being appreciated. From the perspective of the Zakhe staff, the benefits have been especially high and strongly appreciated, including the chance to provide their students with a unique new perspective on “service” activities and the opportunity for this non-profit institution to become more involved in community development activities. Since the beginning of this collaboration with Engineers Without Borders-USA/Johns Hopkins University, Zakhe has been able to secure its own funded project to assist the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture with issues of “food security” and it has also developed stronger and deeper ties with other organizations in the surrounding community, including local Rotary Clubs. Finally, direct evidence of increased productivity of irrigated agricultural fields combined with continuing demand for installation of new ram pumps demonstrates strong satisfaction among the local stakeholders in this project.

Limitations and Problems Encountered. Experiences with Engineers Without Borders student-led projects have also allowed identification of certain project conditions that are less likely to lead to long-term success, either for the students or for the local populations. One major difficulty relates to the logistics of completing appropriate and complete assessments in time to propose and fund the next implementation, as for example when a Rotary Foundation Matching Grant application is required. It can be especially difficult to get appropriate and timely local support for the assessment process, and on two occasions the local communities selected for aid were selected by the Engineers Without Borders team more for political reasons than on the basis of their need for the ram pump intervention. On two other occasions, time was spent assessing communities where local political frictions ultimately prevented an intervention. Another perennial challenge is for the teams to find the time and capacity to prepare proper written documentation of the results, developments, and findings in formats required by Engineers Without Borders-USA, especially since long trips generally occur immediately prior to or during busy semesters and are inevitably followed by a long stack of waiting tasks that accumulated during travel. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, there is an ever present and on-going major challenge in providing local communities with the training they need on routine system maintenance, establishment of strong foundations for economic stability, and proper access to sources of support in the event that something serious goes wrong. In all of these regards, the continuing development of local capacity at Zakhe Agricultural College is a promising solution, but is not without its own challenges. Further, as noted by Mr. Alcock (personal communication to W. Ball, 2009), the typically limited time commitment available to student teams limits their potential to develop more complete engineering solutions to some of the communities’ more pressing problems: as with the models discussed below, the longer the period of relationship between the student team and the local population, the greater the opportunity for success in the resulting project.



II. Engineering Academic Programs: The Example of a Design Experience via Global Design Teams

The Global Engineering Program (GEP) at Purdue University serves the students, staff and faculty of the College of Engineering and helps to provide global experiences for students. GEP offers comprehensive undergraduate and graduate global programs in education, research and learning (Dare et al. 2009; Mohtar et al. 2009). The mission of the Global Engineering Program (GEP 2010) includes the three mission areas of Purdue University as follows:

Engagement: Improve the competence and livelihood of the engineering, academic and business communities in Indiana, the US and the world, through building global partnerships.Discovery: Strengthen the signature of the College of Engineering at Purdue University as a global engineering hub for strategic research in targeted geographic areas to meet the global engineering grand challenges of the 21st century and beyond.Learning: Provide opportunities to Engineering students at Purdue through global educational initiatives that empower them to become leaders of engineering discovery, engagement, and learning.

In order to achieve this mission through the students involved in its programs, Global Engineering Program builds upon the following core elements:

Need for a discovery or service to solve or address a global challenge; “Need” translates into enabling experiences that enhance the ability of the student to effectively address global challenges,Expertise that the Engineering College at Purdue or its faculty, staff and students can offer to meet those needs,Recognition by international partners to possess the expertise required to address the needs,Change in the quality of life as a result of intervention with expertise,Sustainability of effort and impact in addressing current and future challenges in a socially responsible and culturally sensitive manner.The flagship program of the Global Engineering

Program is the Global Design Team that partners Purdue student teams with NGOs, businesses, or other research institutions in international development projects to accomplish three primary goals: 1. Give Purdue students real-world, full-cycle

design experience 2. Raise the global awareness of Purdue students

through global experiences 3. Increase Purdue’s global humanitarian impact.The types of partnerships involved include combinations of NGOs, universities and/or business partners; some of whom are located with or working in the host country (examples include African Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Agriculture (ACREST) in Cameroon, Al Quds University and the Palestinian Hydrology Group in Palestine, the International Water Management Institute in Ghana, and the Institute for Affordable Transportation in Indianapolis). It is incumbent upon partners to be stakeholders in the solution of the challenge, the welfare of the community, and/or in the equipment and engineering knowledge used in finding a solution to the challenge. It should be noted that, where possible, the active involvement of a Purdue alumnus is sought; such involvement has been instrumental in creating a link between the needs of the local community benefiting from the design and the students carrying out the design.

Funding Sources in Support of Global Design Team Projects. All stakeholders play a role in enabling the project financially: students contribute (beyond regular tuition) to their travel expenses, even if this is only a minimal contribution (e.g., $200-$500). Local hosts will provide or significantly contribute to ground transportation in the host country, food and lodging for the team in situ, and materials or equipment where relevant. Support from US-based NGOs is expressed in time invested, support materials, training, and in some cases providing technical expertise to the teams. In addition, sponsorship to cover the primary costs of each Global Design Team is sought from foundations, academic units, private donors and corporations. The cost of the average team, from conception through 7-10 days in the field to deliver the solution is $35,000-$40,000.

Student Involvement. Within the Global Design Team model, engineering students work in collaboration with NGOs, businesses or other research institutions to define project objectives, timelines, and target outcomes. The teams work under the direction of an engineering faculty advisor and seek advice from university and outside professionals who are familiar with the disciplines involved in the project. Team size varies by project, but commonly ranges between four and six students. Teams include both undergraduate and graduate students from multiple disciplines, as defined by the project objectives. Undergraduate lower division students may participate in an “observer” capacity; seniors enrolled in a design course take the course for credit; graduate students assess or evaluate the work or contribute directly to an aspect of the design related to their degree goals and research.

The challenges underlying the project objectives are defined by the host NGOs or host university, and must be challenges of relevance to the local population as well as to the learning goals of the students involved. For example, one project currently under development will aim at developing solutions to a multifaceted safe water challenge in Bangladesh. The challenge itself cuts across disciplines to include issues of empowerment of women, community health, and sanitation in addition to the engineering “direct” challenge of ensuring a secure, potable water supply. This challenge is made complicated by the fact that water developed from deep wells is impacted by open pit latrines, periodic flooding, and coastal hydrogeology, resulting in microbial and heavy-metal contamination. While the engineering teams will address issues of bioremediation and heavy metal extraction, the complete challenge will also include pharmaceutical, public health, education and anthropological components. The interdisciplinary nature of the project will therefore require a multidisciplinary student team and, similarly, liaison beyond the primary faculty from Engineering to other schools and colleges as essential elements to the long-term success of the project.

Identification of educational objectives is a faculty responsibility accomplished through

interaction with host NGOs who will identify the initial problem within the context of the needs of the local community. With regard to each project, faculty address issues such as the number of students participating in the Global Design Team, support required from the Global Engineering Program, issues of academic credit, majors or academic level appropriate to the Global Design Team, and other issues evolving from each specific project.

Brief Example Projects. Water Distribution Design in the Palestinian West Bank [Fall 2008]. The pilot Global Design Team was comprised of a group of four Agricultural and Biological Engineering students who delivered the design for a water distribution system to Al Nwai’mah Village in Palestine’s West Bank; the Palestinian Hydrology Group, a local NGO, presented the challenge. Over the course of the semester, the students worked, through regular telephone and internet meetings, with Palestinian Hydrology Group engineers to design a water distribution system for the town of 2,100 households. Upon completion of the design, students traveled to Jordan and during 10 days, presented and delivered the design to the Group. They were hosted by a Purdue alumnus currently at Hashemite University in Jordan.

Based on the student efforts to date, portions of the design have been or will be implemented by the Palestinian Hydrology Group; 2,100 homes now have a clean supply of water. As a result of the successful outcome of the first project, the Group has invited Purdue to continue its involvement by participating in:1. Drafting of an Environmental Master Plan for

the West Bank;2. Building a Geographic Information System

(GIS) database for Jericho City;3. Developing an Integrated Water Management

& Planning Tool;4. Building a successful case study using the ideas

of integrated water resources management.

Irrigation System Design in Ghana [Spring 2009]. Partnering with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI 2010), a team of

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students developed and delivered a site-specific irrigation system design tool in Ghana. During the course of a semester, the team maintained regular weekly contact with the technical advisor from IWMI, who participated in the design and supplied critical details and data for specific project sites. The team (which consisted of 5 students) traveled to Ghana for an eight day period, during which they met the other partners in the support network, and interacted with farmers and extension persons at the sites where the irrigation system design is to be used. Together, the students, farmers and extension personnel made the final adjustments and delivered the design tool, along with a blueprint on irrigation system design and irrigation scheduling plans for a specific field site. The regional director of IWMI, who was responsible for identifying the field site, is a Purdue alumnus.

Reaction by Students and Stakeholders. In both of these projects (West Bank and Ghana) students returned to describe “life altering” impact. For example, one student changed her career path. Declining an already accepted position with an engineering firm, this student elected to return to graduate school and pursue a joint engineering education-global engineering project. Further, students are inspired to compare and consider their experiences in ways that had not previously occurred to them: student comments regarding the Ghana experience (also indicative of teams in the West Bank) reflect a new level of consciousness as suggested in the following quote of student appreciation for:

. . .things otherwise taken for granted in America, like ice, clean water, clean fruits and vegetables. We saw some incredibly beautiful, spectacular sites, such as the botanical gardens and the dam at Akosombo, but also some disturbing and ‘downright disgusting’ sights: mounds of trash floating on top of the raw sewage in the lagoon that was being pumped straight out to sea.

Students also reflected on their desire that:. . . more Global Engineering Program teams from Purdue can come and make an impact: Global Design Team is a tool for addressing ‘works in progress’ and there is lots of work that remains to be done.

We hope to be only the first of many teams of students to follow, bringing different engineering disciplines and expertise to where it is needed and carrying home with us an improved understanding of the way in which we must all work together to improve the quality of life of human beings everywhere.

Students also discovered that weaknesses in their designs are pointed out, and discussed professionally, with recipient communities. They appreciate that the service they provide has a genuine payback as they work with colleagues whose own cultural perspectives and professional experiences enrich the lives of our students both as aspiring engineers and as members of the global community that has now become more tangible to them.

Benefits and Components of a Successful Project. Although a complete discussion and assessment is beyond the scope of this manuscript, the Global Design Team and Global Engineering Program have worked with the stakeholders in these projects to identify and share with students the stakeholder perceptions regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the designs. This exchange is a positive one that has ramifications beyond the specific technical points involved. In the West Bank, the students were delighted to realize that parts of their design have been or will be implemented and that other parts have been effectively adjusted to better suit the use of local materials and the resources available for the purchase of these materials and the restricted budget. In Ghana, stakeholders noted that a less complex design would suit them better, even though they deeply appreciated the vast array of options offered by the tool – the students concluded that a more focused type of application is sometimes a more useful one. In every case, beyond global technical experience gained through working under unique conditions, students were exposed to other professional engineering conduct and cultural norms that enriched their experience. These benefits to the partners were no less significant than the technical project deliverables.

As a result of these interactions, and our other assessment implements, the Global Design Team and Global Engineering Program have identified a



number of benefits of the projects to the students and faculty involved, as well as to the local populations impacted by these projects. The program has also identified a number of critical components leading to successful projects. Finally, the Global Engineering Program has learned from projects which have resulted in less than complete success. Lessons from these projects are reflected in the learning experience for the new student teams as well as in improved impact on local populations.

Limitations and Problems Encountered. The greatest challenges associated with the Global Design Team model at present are securing:1. Reliable and qualified on-the-ground support to

offer technical advice and assist with logistics. To a significant degree, seeking out and incorporating the support of Purdue alumni to identify the appropriate local stakeholders and responsible person(s) as in-country contacts has alleviated many of the issues related to this first challenge,

2. Funding for short term projects. Foundations and research funding agencies have tended to look for longer term, research or development related projects. Thus far, we have been successful in enlisting the support of donors who are excited about the potential of the Global Design Team . Further, with the ability to report on successful projects, it is expected that the Global Engineering Program can now begin to plan longer-term projects that are expected to be more attractive to foundations and research-funding agencies, and

3. Long-term continuity in project locations: As the Global Design Team approach to international projects is young, there has not yet been an opportunity to return to the original project sites for ongoing assessment and development of new projects. As a result, there has not been an opportunity to pursue long-term continuity on these projects. Continuity is, however, a central focal point of ongoing efforts and, as noted above, increase in funding is targeted specifically at providing such long-term continuity in specific project areas so as to both improve the efficacy of the projects and the attractiveness of these projects to funding agencies.

III. Engineering Research Programs: The Long-Term Research Program

A number of universities have developed research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students in developing communities. Over the past decade, the University of Notre Dame has experimented with a number of models for involving undergraduate students in research on ground water supply, development and protection (Silliman 2009). The most recent version of the research model, Long-Term Research, involves students from engineering and a number of other disciplines committing to one summer of research and completion of two research classes (one before and one after the summer period) related to water resource development in Benin, West Africa. In return for this commitment, the students have an opportunity to complete a twelve month research project in collaboration with faculty, students, and professionals in Benin (under the supervision of a faculty member and graduate students from Notre Dame).

The specific format of the Long-Term Research program includes students being accepted into the program in the fall semester of the sophomore or junior year. During the spring semester the students form research teams (with initial contacts with colleagues in Benin) which identify research objectives and goals for the semester and summer field season in Benin (based to a large degree on experiences, accomplishments, and research needs identified by previous Long-Term Research teams). These teams, typically involving 2-4 undergraduates, are advised by a faculty member and assisted by graduate students active in the specific research project. The remainder of the spring semester is dedicated to advancing the research effort through numerical efforts, equipment preparation, and analysis of existing data bases. Students also attend discussions of prior research efforts, cultural aspects of Benin, language preparation (commonly pursued individually by the students using digital language courses), and debriefing of previous team members.

The Long-Term Research team (plus the graduate students and faculty advisor) travels to Benin over the summer to work in collaboration with graduate

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students and faculty from the Universite d’Abomey-Calavi (one of the national universities in Benin), a local NGO and the government water agency. Total summer commitment is eight weeks, with two to seven weeks spent in Benin (depending on the need for field characterization). The students receive a summer stipend at a level similar to those received in common summer research experience for undergraduates programs (~$3,500, variable by year and discipline) and all travel costs are covered by the project. The students live either in local hotels or, when working in rural regions, with villagers in local houses. The students work in collaborative teams including Benin students, faculty, and members of the local NGO and government water agency. Under ideal conditions (not always met), students in Benin continue the field research efforts after the end of the summer travel period of the U.S. students and faculty.

During any remaining portion of the eight week summer period and during the fall semester, the students work at Notre Dame (in collaboration with the Benin students and faculty via the internet) on data analysis, adjustment of field equipment and methods, and other aspects of the research effort. As appropriate, they also prepare their research efforts for future publication.

Student Involvement. Undergraduate students (including students from engineering and other disciplines as required for a project) are selected for the Long-Term Research program through an application process. The number of students involved at the undergraduate level has varied over the past several years from two to five. In addition, four to ten undergraduates have contributed to the projects each year through semester research projects at Notre Dame (without field experience in Benin). These students are overseen by a faculty member from civil and environmental engineering (with contributions from faculty from other disciplines as appropriate), as well as graduate students (typically 1-2) associated with the project.

As noted above, the students receive a stipend for eight weeks of summer effort. In addition, they must register for three credits (equivalent to a standard undergraduate course) in both the spring and fall semesters. These credits are approved through the department of the student’s major or in

civil engineering, dependent on the preference of the student and degree requirements. These credits are commonly used to fill technical electives (for engineering majors) or free electives (for non-engineering majors).

Funding Sources in Support of Long-Term Research Projects. Funding for student stipends, travel expenses, and research expenses (as well as select expenses for the Benin partners) has been derived from a number of sources. These include funding from the National Science Foundation, private donations, and support from private foundations. The majority of the funding, as well as the most consistent funding, has been derived from foundations. Annual expenses for the Long-Term Research program are on the order of $7,000 per student.

Brief Example Projects. Characterization of Coastal Hydraulics - Water Quality. Protection of ground water supporting the domestic and industrial water demands of Cotonou, Benin, is reliant on prevention of salt-water intrusion and recharge of surface contaminants into the ground water supply. An ongoing research program involving Long-Term Research students initially focused on improving an existing numerical model of the coastal aquifer system (Boukari et al. 2008). This initial work led to identification of the coastal wetlands and a large, shallow lake (Lake Nokoue) as critical to the modeling effort, yet prior field characterization of these regions was extremely limited. The project (currently in its 4th year) has therefore been extended to a detailed field characterization effort. Recent efforts by the Team and associated graduate students have included chemical characterization of shallow subsurface water samples, field measurement of the spatial distribution of critical hydraulic parameters (hydraulic conductivity and hydraulic head), geophysical (resistivity) measurements of the coastal region, and installation of long-term monitoring stations in both the wetlands and the lake. In these efforts, the students are responsible for equipment design and construction, design of the field sampling plan, performing the field measurements in collaboration with their in-country peers, and analysis of the resulting field data.



Over the past four years, five Long-Term Research students (including civil, mechanical and chemical engineers), two graduate students, and several Benin students have been involved in this characterization effort. Faculty from both Notre Dame and the Universite d’Abomey-Calavi were also active in these efforts.

Nitrate Contamination in Rural Ground Water Wells. Based on a request from one of the Benin partners, a project was initiated in 2003 to study the source and extent of nitrate contamination in a region of rural Benin. While undergraduates were involved in this project since its inception (students were involved in regional sampling for nitrates in 2003 and 2004 through an NSF-REU site), undergraduates in the Long-Term Research program were first involved in this project in 2006. During the summers of 2006 and 2007, a graduate student and two (2006) or three (2007) Long-Term Research students lived in one of the project villages for a period of seven (2006) and five (2007) weeks. While in country, the students worked under the direction of the Notre Dame graduate student. All students involved were women. Unfortunately, no Benin students were involved in this effort.

The Long-Term Research students worked on multiple projects over the two summers. These included assisting in a project of training the local population to monitor the water quality in their local ground water wells (Crane et al. 2009), developing a K-12 educational exchange program with a local school, and investigating the colloidal component of uranium contamination in local wells. Results included assessment of the local population monitoring program, initiation of a new research program on sanitation for the villages involved in the original research, identification of the colloidal component as negligible in the uranium contamination, and exchange between 7th grade students in Benin and the United States including letters, video, and educational initiatives.

During the summer of 2009, Long-Term Research students once again contributed to this project. In this case, a Benin partner has taken the lead on a sanitation project. A central scientific question is the delineation of field methods appropriate to identification of sources of

contamination leading to nitrate contamination in the well. Hence, two Long-Term Research students, a graduate student, and faculty from Notre Dame joined faculty from Benin to design, build and test a field methodology for combining geophysics and fluorescent tracer methods to differentiate among different contamination sources. The Long-Term Research contribution was closely tied to design and construction of a field-portable fluorimeter capable of differentiating among, and quantifying concentration of, fluorescent tracers to be used in future tracer tests.

Since 2006, five Long-Term Research students have been involved in this project. Three of these were engineering students (civil and mechanical engineering), one was a Science (chemistry) student, and one was from the College of Arts and Letters.

Benefits and Components of a Successful Project. Benefits of the Long-Term Research model have been discussed in some detail in Silliman (2009) and significant benefits have been identified in a number of areas. These include the research experience received by the students, the strong international experience for both the U.S. and Benin students, interaction with the local populations in Benin, advances in technical research, and the stated influence of this experience on post-graduation activities (graduate school, service teaching, law school, graduate school in social work).

Assessment indicates a number of components that contributed to the impact of the Long-Term Research program on the students, in-country partners, and local populations. Among the most important has been the commitment to long-term research collaboration with in-country partners; these collaborations have provided critical logistical support and continuity of the in-country efforts. Associated with this collaboration, Notre Dame has developed reliable logistical arrangements for each of the regions involved in the research efforts (including housing, transportation, and food): this logistical support has allowed the Long-Term Research program to focus on the research efforts during relatively brief summer research seasons. Close working relationships with local populations has also provided opportunities both to pursue

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innovative research (such as the local monitoring effort) and for cultural immersion.

Reaction by Students and Stakeholders. Comments from U.S. students involved in the Long-Term Research program have identified positive outcomes associated with participation in this program in terms of the combined engineering and cultural experience, the international experience, and the opportunity to work in a team environment. Specifically, the students have identified the combination of technical research and cultural immersion as a critical feature. They have also argued that this experience has provided them with a unique view of socially conscious leadership. Finally, the teamwork (both with fellow U.S. students and with Benin students) has been noted by several Long-Term Research participants as a key benefit of this program.

Benin stakeholders included the partner agencies, the students at the Universite d’Abomey-Calavi, and the local populations impacted by the projects. In terms of the local population, indication of the interest in the program is evidenced by participation of the local population in weekly water-quality monitoring (without compensation) for over five years (Crane et al. 2009) and expressed desire of the population to continue the program into the arena of sanitation. Colleagues at the NGO and faculty at the Universite d’Abomey-Calavi have expressed a number of positive benefits in terms of cultural exchange, benefit to local populations, and potential to work with advanced scientific equipment. As with the local population, reaction of these colleagues was generally very positive. The one stakeholder group that expressed reservations regarding the program involved Benin students. Specifically, one student associated with the program for the past three years expressed frustration during the summer of 2009 that his role in guiding the project had not advanced to the level he desired. He indicated further that other Benin students who had left the project in the first two years of effort did so because they did not see long-term benefit to participation in the research efforts, predominantly due to lack of opportunity for these students to continue their studies to the graduate level and the weak job market in Benin in the realm of environmental engineering and hydrogeology.

Plans are currently underway to find broader opportunities for the Benin students to contribute to the research, including the development of a Masters program in hydrogeology at the Universite d’Abomey-Calavi.

Limitations and Problems Encountered. Evaluation of the Long-Term Research model also indicates a number of issues that occasionally result in limitations in the achievement of program goals. Among these are limitations in the language skills of the students: lack of fluency in specific local languages by the students, the Benin students, and faculty from both countries increased the challenge of communicating with the community partners and occasionally led to misunderstandings. While at first glance it might be argued that such language skills could be addressed prior to travel to a country, the reality is that the languages required in the field work in Benin included a number of languages, including Fon and Idaca, not universally spoken by the faculty or students in Benin. Hence, while skills in French can generally be improved in the United States, it would require substantially different resources and effort to establish Fon and Idaca language skills among participants.

The multiple semester commitment to Long-Term Research has also become an issue for some of the students involved. Specifically, the commitment in the fall semester (following travel to Benin) can become an issue as the students decide that they are not attracted to this type of research or realize that they wish to use limited undergraduate course options to focus their courses on subjects more aligned with their long-term career goals. Initial efforts to deal with this limitation by pursuing extended discussion on educational and career goals with each student as they are accepted into the program have met with moderate success in dealing with this aspect of the Long-Term Research model.

While Benin faculty and students have been involved in many aspects of the research projects associated with the Long-Term Research program, equality among the U.S. and Benin contributions in terms of participation in the research effort and identification of critical research questions has not yet been achieved. It is believed that this is, in part, a function of the greater ability for the U.S. partner



to obtain program funding (and therefore become the required project lead). It is also a function of the lack of a graduate program in hydrogeology, and limited student resources, in Benin. The development of master’s degrees at the university in Benin will help to reduce the inequality of contribution to research questions and research leadership.

In contrast to the Engineers Without Borders and Global Design Team models, the need to travel to Africa is a challenge for a student experience that is focused predominantly on research. From the standpoint of a research program, limiting the opportunity to pursue field research (by the US participants) to a relatively short field season can represent a significant constraint on the research. This challenge is partially offset through the collaboration with the Benin students and faculty. It is also recognized that pursuing research in Africa requires greater finances and commitment by the lead faculty to logistics than would pursuit of similar research at field sites in the United States. While the international experience is clearly a focal point of the Long-Term Research model, the focus on research makes identification of limitations of the research effort specifically related to this required international travel important to the present discussion.

IV. Graduate Program Tied to Long-Term Service: The Peace Corps Master’s International Program in Civil and Environmental Engineering

The United States Peace Corps established the Master’s International in 1987 to create an experience that allows the integration of a master’s degree in numerous disciplines with overseas service in the Peace Corps. In the early 1990s, faculty at Michigan Tech began discussing ways to develop Peace Corps Master’s International programs, starting with a program in Agroforestry to build off the experiences of a faculty member in forestry who had served in Peace Corps. By 1997, Michigan Tech had established a Peace Corps Master’s International program in Civil and Environmental Engineering with the arrival of its first student. Michigan Tech now has programs in eight fields (forestry, environmental engineering, civil engineering, natural hazards, science

education, technical communication, natural resource economics, mechanical engineering) and consequently has the nation’s largest Peace Corps Master’s International student body in the country. The programs have provided the foundation for a culture of international development engagement for students and faculty across campus through the university’s D80 Center (D80 Center 2010).

Michigan Tech’s Peace Corps Master’s International program in Civil and Environmental Engineering is structured to allow any student with a baccalaureate degree in engineering (or equivalent coursework) to apply to the program. The program requires thirty semester-hours of credit for completion: coursework comprises twenty-one of these credits (including four credits from two required courses: Engineering With Developing Communities, and Community Assessment and Planning). The remaining nine credits are associated with research obligations: seven for international field research, and two for the master’s research report. Due to the nature of community needs served by most engineering students in the program, students are strongly encouraged to have Hydrology, Geohydrology, Water Treatment, and Wastewater Treatment in their curricular backgrounds prior to service in the Peace Corps. Some students obtain this training via their undergraduate programs, while others select these courses among their electives during their Peace Corps Master’s International studies. The international field research credits are derived from the time served in Peace Corps. This time period translates to seven semesters of service; the student receives one credit of international field experience for each semester served, thus receiving seven total credits for this experience. During the student’s stay abroad, quarterly reports are due to Peace Corps and Michigan Tech as documentation of progress throughout their service.

The Peace Corps Master’s International program is designed for two semesters of on-campus study, followed by a standard twenty-seven months Peace Corps service, and culminating in a return to campus for completion of the Masters and passing of the Masters defense. Typically mid-way through the two-semester curricular phase, students will receive their Peace Corps placement. Peace Corps placement includes which country the

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student is assigned to as well as a preliminary job description. As students are viewed as specialists, rather than generalists as is typical of most Peace Corps volunteers, they are typically destined for Peace Corps’ water and sanitation, or community health sectors; most focus on contributing to basic community infrastructure projects. Peace Corps service begins with three months of in-country language and culture training by Peace Corps staff; home stays are often involved to accelerate the training to competence prior to placement in the community of service. Peace Corps is responsible for the safety and health of all volunteers, so communities must meet basic requirements regarding adequate housing in order to host a volunteer. While initial project needs may be alluded to in the job description, the needs, resources, and abilities of the community where the Peace Corps Master’s International student is living often dictate the specific projects undertaken, thus making complete project identification difficult or impossible prior to the student arriving in country. Further, while a typical Peace Corps volunteer will have multiple projects during their service, the Master’s International volunteer, through consultation with their advisor and committee, has the additional need to define a project with sufficient depth to create a graduate-level research study. This project then serves as the basis of the Masters of Science research and subsequent master’s defense.

Student Involvement. To date eighty students have enrolled in the Peace Corps Master’s International program in Civil and Environmental Engineering, fifty-one have successfully completed the program, and eighteen are currently in Peace Corps service. While the program began with one student in 1997, the past several years have had cohorts of approximately ten students. Applications have increased dramatically over the past five years, likely related to the surge of undergraduate international experiences like those described above, most notably Engineers Without Borders-USA. The program has attracted a diverse group of students from more than fifty universities, many going through extra years of coursework to get an undergraduate engineering degree in order to enter the engineering masters degree program required

for the Peace Corps Master’s International. Table 1 shows a breakdown of the undergraduate student disciplines involved to date. Regardless of their undergraduate training, nearly three-quarters of the students have chosen to earn their M.S. in environmental engineering, the remaining quarter opting for civil engineering.

Gender diversity of the Peace Corps Master’s International program has been a success with 38.8 percent of the students being female. This compares favorably to the Michigan Tech campus (24.4 percent female) and engineering nationwide (~20 percent) but not as well to the other similarly development-focused programs at Michigan Tech, such as Engineers Without Borders, idesign (an international senior design program), or international research exchanges (49 percent female overall, see Paterson and Fuchs 2008, 2009). Student interest and application in the Peace Corps Master’s International program run nearly 50 percent female, but the applicant-to-student conversion rate is higher for male applicants. The reasons for this are unknown. Racial diversity within the program has been low with 1.4 percent African American, 1.4 percent Native American, 2.8 percent Hispanic American, 2.8 percent Asian American, and 91 percent White American. The program tracks notably low for Asian Americans and high for White Americans compared to national engineering enrollment figures (ASEE 2008). Due to the citizenship requirements of the U.S. Peace Corps, international students are not permitted in the Peace Corps Master’s International program.

Placement diversity has been great over the twelve years of the program. Peace Corps has placed the civil and environmental students in twenty-five countries as follows (with number of students placed): Mali (10), Panama (8), Dominican Republic (6), Honduras (6), Jamaica (6), Uganda (4), Ghana (3), Madagascar (3), Philippines (3), Belize (2), East Timor (2), Mauritania (2), Mexico (2), Suriname (2), Vanuatu (2), Benin (1), Cameroon (1), Fiji (1), Kenya (1), Macedonia (1), Palau (1), Peru (1), Samoa (1), Uzbekistan (1), and Zambia (1). Peace Corps is currently in nearly 70 countries, yet as the perceived need for basic infrastructure is greatest in Central and South America, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Pacific Islands regions, Peace Corps has yet to place Master’s International engineering



students in southeast Asia or north Africa, and has sent very few to Eastern Europe or Central Asia.

Funding Sources in Support of Peace Corps Master’s International Projects. Funding for projects undertaken by students in their communities has been obtained from a variety of sources, depending on the nature and scope of the project. The Peace Corps Partnership Program creates a mechanism for the public to sponsor individual Peace Corps projects, initiatives, or countries (U.S. Peace Corps 2009). Some Master’s International students have used this program to solicit donations from friends and family. The Small Project Assistance Program involves collaboration between Peace Corps and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) focused on capacity building in communities served by Peace Corps volunteers (USAID 2009). Peace Corps provides the human resources, while USAID provides the financial resources to create development projects at the community level. Peace Corps Master’s International students have successfully received Small Project Assistance grants to finance some of their projects. Both these and Partnership Program grants are small, typically a few thousand dollars at most. Additional sources of funding can include support from partnering NGOs, the national government, as well as the community hosting the Peace Corps Master’s International student.

Peace Corps Master’s International students differ from traditional graduate students in a few key ways; their high course load and short time on campus generally precludes them from receiving financial assistantships through teaching or research appointments. Yet, despite generous tuition scholarships given to all Peace Corps Master’s International students by Michigan Tech (all students receive in-state tuition, and the international field experience credits are at no-cost to the student) and the low cost of living in the vicinity of Michigan Tech (Houghton, MI), the financial reality of contemporary university education is a challenge. Therefore, the Peace Corps Master’s International program faculty has obtained several grants over the years to help lower the financial hurdle to participating in the program. National Science Foundation S-STEM and GK-12

awards have helped financially, as well as providing unique professional development opportunities among the students involved. Recent major alumni donations have also provided scholarships for many students.

Brief Example Projects. Figure 1 shows the project themes for Peace Corps Master’s International students’ research. These data do not reflect the myriad side projects that volunteers are engaged with outside their degree-required research. Historically, more than 55 percent of the Peace Corps Master’s International student research has focused on water issues (supply, resources, treatment, and sanitation), while many other projects may have water-related linkages (e.g. aquaculture, bridges, education, etc.). A few example projects are presented next.

Point-of-Use Water Treatment in Rural Ghana. In this project, a Peace Corps Master’s International student was placed in a village with variable water resources — small streams during rainy season, community-scale impoundment

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Discipline PercentageEngineering (Total) 81.4

Civil 37.1Environmental 15.7Mechanical 14.3Chemical 5.7Other (Aerospace, Earth Resources, Electrical, Materials Mining, Nuclear)

8.6

Non Engineering (Total) 18.6Biology 4.3Physics 4.3Geology 2.9Mathematics 2.9Other (Business, Engineering Arts, Lingusitics)

4.3

Table 1. Undergraduate disciplines enrolled in the Michigan Tech Peace Corps Master’s International program in Civil and Environmental Engineering (n = 70). Non-engineering degree holders took equivalent make-up coursework to achieve the ABET requirements for an undergraduate degree in engineering.

for use as the streams dry, and boreholes for the driest season. Due to the changing nature of sources, the community had always focused on water acquisition rather than water quality. As a consequence, waterborne disease was a way of life. Through progressive partnerships with the Carter Center then International Aid, this Peace Corps Master’s International student was able to create a biosand filter project for his community, and at the same time provide valuable long-term field performance results to the partnering organizations. Because the student was in his second year living in the community, he was able to achieve a high rate of community participation in the education, construction, operation, and maintenance phases. He was also better positioned to construct a fair, informed, and statistically valid plan by which families were included in the field trial. He was also in a position to obtain candid answers to pre- and post-implementation surveys. His work identified several critical considerations for successful implementation of similar technology interventions.

Tilapia Aquaculture in Mauritania. A Peace Corps Master’s International student in southern Mauritania found his community excited about

the prospects of having a fresh source of protein in their diets when some community members heard a presentation about aquaculture from leaders of a nearby village. The student, known to be an engineer by the community, was asked to design the fish pond that would be needed in this semi-arid part of the country. The student interacted remotely with aquaculture experts from around the world, designed the reservoir for the local climate, and located appropriate resources (e.g. fish stock, liner material, and water). The water allocation took careful negotiation with the community, as did decisions about construction (location and participants), and recipients. In the end, the project went forward quickly when a past project partner of the Peace Corps Master’s International student volunteered his land, using a seasonal streambed as the core of the aquaculture pond. This ownership has resulted in a long-term success; the pond is successfully bringing tilapia to market nearly five years after completion. This project highlighted the importance of relationships possible through long-term in-country stays, as provided by the Peace Corps Master’s International program, coupled with effective life-long learning skills, as required to master the technical aspects of aquaculture engineering.

Figure 1. Breakdown of research topics among Michigan Tech’s Peace Corps Master’s International students (n=52; note: many projects encompass two or more of these foci).



0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 Percentage of PCMI research projects (%)

Food security

Solid waste

EconomicsEnergy

Water treatmentIndoor air pollution

Decision making

ConstructionPublic health

Water management

SanitationWater supply

Res

earc

h fo

ci

Water Access in Uganda. This project started with the simple premise of understanding where people from the Peace Corps Master’s International student’s community got their water. Initially, this was to be a study of the distance traveled to fetch water. As the Peace Corps Master’s International student spent time in the community, the questions evolved beyond travel distance to a broader understanding of water supply and use. Nearly 300 households were interviewed to ascertain water and sanitation status and establish a baseline on diarrheal incidence. As real evidence came to light, it motivated a community-wide clean water strategy. Through the efforts of this student, two shallow wells, thirty-eight latrines, twenty-five household filters, and 145 household hand-washing stations were created. Additionally, a culturally appropriate and effective water education initiative led to design and delivery of two music, dance, and drama shows. This project underscored the awareness and adaptability required in most of the Peace Corps Master’s International experiences.

Benefits and Components of a Successful Project. All of the stakeholders connected to Peace Corps Master’s International projects seem to benefit: students, faculty, communities, Peace Corps, project partners, and Michigan Tech. The development projects benefit from having graduate-level engineers engaged. Most of these communities rarely see engineers, especially for a two-year commitment. Peace Corps is consistently positive about the contributions of Michigan Tech Master’s International students around the world; the students deliver effective projects, and to date, none have dropped out of Peace Corps during their service. Michigan Tech is proud of its leadership in international development engineering and highlights the Peace Corps Master’s International program in multiple venues. The faculty advisors to the students have expanded their technical contributions to communities with significant needs; in return the faculty has a keen sense of meaningful service to society. Most importantly from an academic perspective, the Master’s International alumni appear to more fully develop the diverse set of skills, attitudes, and identity being asked of modern engineering professionals

(Lohmann et al. 2006; American Society of Civil Engineers 2004; National Academy of Engineering 2004). Rigorous assessment studies are currently investigating whether these observations are backed by evidence (Bielefeldt et al. 2009, Paterson 2008, Paterson et al. 2007).

Successful Peace Corps Master’s International projects have shared several key components. First, projects are based in a community with sufficient capacity to ensure a successful and sustainable outcome. This capacity is often the result of a complex mix of community leadership, cultural practice, past (beneficial) interaction with other development organizations, and local resources (natural and human). While the student may be able to influence local capacity, this is usually set long in advance of the student’s arrival. In communities that are less developed in project capacity, the student is often successful if they find the local “outlier,” often a progressive and entrepreneurial person who has the right combination of attitude and work ethic to make a project succeed, and then structure the project to the appropriate scale (e.g. household demonstration rather than community-level).

The second critical feature is a savvy project leader, the Peace Corps Master’s International student. While the on-campus curriculum and Peace Corps training improve odds for success, certain students simply have the right blend of personality, awareness, adaptability, and resourcefulness to make a community rally behind a project. These traits can be learned, but the stresses of Peace Corps life may often cause a person to fall back on conditioned responses. Unfortunately, there is gender bias; female students often find it harder to establish a position of influence in many of the male-dominated cultures served by Peace Corps volunteers.

Lastly, all successful Peace Corps Master’s International projects have been rooted in integrative community design; projects must be thoughtfully planned to be sustainable (economically, environmentally, and socially) at the community’s level, while delivering critical human-centered needs (desirability, technical feasibility, and economic viability) at the individual’s level.

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Limitations and Problems Encountered. The primary challenges for Michigan Tech’s Peace Corps Master’s International program in Civil and Environmental Engineering arise from the partnership with Peace Corps. While a wonderful partner in many ways, Peace Corps must operate by its own rules, and does not bend to those of any of its sixty partnering universities. This has tremendous impact on the research enterprise of the program. There is no way to influence the country and community placement of the Master’s International students, hence there is little certainty regarding the specific nature of research projects that materialize; both students and advisors need to be extremely flexible, a valuable professional skill certainly, but the rigid practices of expertise-driven academics are often less accommodating. While students are fairly willing to shift to a research topic of benefit to their community, faculty advisors may suddenly find themselves with a student who is engaged in a topic outside the advisor’s area of expertise and comfort. Peace Corps Master’s International students and faculty are fully aware that oftentimes advisors and committees need to be shifted as the host community needs and research possibilities become clearer during the first year of the student’s service. The variability of student country assignment also makes it more difficult to develop cultural and language expertise within the program. While cultural and language skills are learned by the student during Peace Corps training, the lack of prior knowledge results in less effective faculty mentoring; it is impossible for any one person to master the nuances of so many cultures and languages.

Another research challenge is the physical separation between advisor and student; in this program, all research is field research and the student is in the field site for two years straight. This arrangement requires an attentive advisor, and both student and advisor must agree to a telecommunication relationship for much of the research phase. While cell phone access is available to most volunteers, internet availability can be variable, often depending on the size of community where the volunteer serves. All faculty advisors are encouraged to visit their students for a week or two near the end of the first year of service to better understand the challenges, availability

of resources, and research nuances that confront the student. Such visits have been truly rewarding for the faculty and students, resulting in better research outcomes for all stakeholders; even other Peace Corps volunteers have been heard to praise both faculty and Michigan Tech upon learning of such visits.

Commonalities among Observations and Recommendations

The four models presented above for participation of college students in international water development projects cover a wide range of options from extra-curricular professional associations (e.g., Engineers Without Borders-USA/Johns Hopkins University), to senior design (Global Design Team – Purdue), to year-long research (Long Term Research – Notre Dame), to a graduate program partnered with the Peace Corps (Peace Corps Master’s International – Michigan Tech). These four examples are illustrative of the tremendous range of international experiences being designed within American university programs. They are also illustrative of the diverse set of educational objectives and learning outcomes that are being targeted in these programs (ranging, for example, from global competence to technical research experiences). As a result, and in the absence of a common method of assessment of the impact of these programs (on students, faculty, and the local-populations served), it is difficult to compare the relative benefits and disbenefits of these specific programs.

Despite the variation in academic focus, objectives, length periods, and financial models involved, there are a number of commonalities that appear in the discussion and evaluation of these models. These commonalities include traits of successful programs, challenges encountered, and potential benefits to the stakeholders (students, faculty, NGOs and government agencies, and the local populations). As an overall observation from these models, it may be concluded that:

The success of projects developed through the diverse set of models discussed above indicates that multiple models for international student experience in water-resource development can result

Silliman, Mohtar, Paterson, and Ball


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in successful projects from the viewpoint of the student experience and impact on the local population. Hence, focus on the traits of successful university-based international development programs is likely more important in advancing the field than are efforts to suggest that one model is fundamentally superior to another. Cooperation among different programs running different models is therefore likely important to the long-term development of “best practices” in the area of student participation in international development.

Attributes of Successful Programs

Commonalities among the programs presented above suggest that a number of attributes are important for beneficial international development experiences for all stakeholders:1. Long-Term Relationships Among Stakeholders:

Perhaps most important to the overall success of individual international projects, the discussion above suggests that, regardless of the model used for the student experience, long-term interaction with a particular population offers local context, local partners, and the opportunity for long-term assessment of project efforts that are critical to sustainable development. Whether this involves working with alumnae of the primary university (e.g., the Global Design Team), providing the student with extended periods of exposure in the project community (e.g., the Peace Corps Master’s International program), or other long-term presence, the opportunity to become familiar with the project community, including opportunity to determine the local priorities and customs related to the project, has been shown on multiple occasions to facilitate successful project design, implementation, and sustainability.

2. Quality of Student Team and Time Commitment Available to the Team: Efforts to recruit, maintain (for the longer-term models), and manage a high-caliber group of students with outstanding technical skills, leadership ability, cultural awareness, and motivation to commit substantial time and effort (be that for academic credit or through extracurricular activities) to

“make a difference” through global impact are perhaps the second most important component of successful projects. High caliber groups offer the challenge and opportunity to plan and execute extraordinary projects on a global scale, using world class technical and leadership skills that typify the best of our student body; a faculty champion qualified both to work on the international components of the project and to advise a high-caliber group of students is equally essential to establishing the standards and quality control necessary for long-term success in water development projects. Results from all four models indicate that extending the time available for student travel in the project country increases the probability of completing successful projects.

3. Interdisciplinary Teams: Development of interdisciplinary student teams is a critical component in approaching projects with full recognition of the interplay among technical, cultural, political, and resource realities of project development and implementation. Particularly important for long-term interaction with a given population, inclusion of student expertise outside of engineering provides critical capabilities in terms of understanding and working within the culture of the local population, as well as evaluating the potential impacts of various solution strategies.

4. Support Network: Development of a support network, both in the United States and in the project country, is an important component of enhancing and sustaining international programs. Whether this network consists of U.S. professional organizations (e.g., Engineers Without Borders-USA) or in-country partners (such as the university and government agencies in the Benin program), it must be invested in the success of the program, willing to contribute (intellectually, financially, or in kind) to specific projects, and be aware of the challenges of maintaining these types of international student experiences. Partners who might contribute to this network include academic institutions, non-profit organizations with appropriate missions, local professionals interested in the project goals, government entities (domestic or foreign), or

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any of a number of national and multi-national corporations whose product, philosophy or philanthropic activities are in line with the program goals. Such networks can help define appropriate projects, provide professional advice and training, contribute to the financial need, and provide critical logistical support.

5. Cultural Awareness: Cultural training of the students, prior to international travel, has been observed through each of the models discussed above to help maximize the students’ global experience and allow the students to better engage, understand, and enjoy interaction with international partners. It is also critical to helping students understand the different priorities of various international stakeholders (local populations, local governmental agencies, NGO), and thereby create more appropriate solutions. While multiple formats, ranging from formal workshops to focus-group discussions, can be effective for building cultural awareness, the effort to expose student teams to the importance of cultural awareness can prepare the students for the challenging cultural environment commonly encountered in developing countries.

6. Assessment and Quality Control: There is a growing call within the development community for assessment of project outcomes and evaluation of the relationship among project strategies, quality control measures used in project design, and final benefits derived from a project. In a different light, assessment of the student learning experience is a critical component of the design of the educational experience of the student involved in these projects. Hence, it is argued that successful projects will typically include application of formal assessment efforts in the areas of student experience and project efficacy in the partner country.

Resources Associated with Successful Projects

From our collective experiences, it is observed that project attributes represent only a portion of the definition of a successful program. Even the best of project concepts and designs may fail in the absence of appropriate supporting resources.

At a minimum, we suggest the following resources are required in support of successful university-led international development efforts:1. Local Logistical Assistance: Local, trusted

assistance for in-country logistics is important for safer international travel by students, particularly for educational models in which students travel abroad without accompaniment of faculty or students who have extensive experience in the project country. Whether this assistance is derived from alumni, professional colleagues, trusted NGOs or other connections, logistics of interest always include housing, food, transportation, safety, cultural awareness, communication, and supplies.

2. Local Technical Support: In addition to logistics, development projects often require site-specific data, familiarity with local professional standards, cultural aspects of design, and suppliers of materials and services critical for the project. Such support may come from a combination of people including faculty from the U.S. institution (with experience in the project country), faculty from a partner university, local engineers (NGOs, alumnae, government agencies), peer students in country, or private entities in-country. This local support is most effective when it is in communication with the project team throughout the planning, design, and implementation phases of a project. As such, international communication via conference call, video conference, or email communication is extremely important for effective design and implementation of projects.

3. Faculty Advisors: It is difficult for the authors of this paper to imagine a successful international project, by any of the models discussed above, in which students did not receive strong technical and moral support from a faculty member at their home institution with work experience in similar contexts. Such support is crucial in focusing student ideas about project objectives and scope, tying the project efforts to learning objectives, encouraging the students during periods of challenge (for many students, this is the first “real world” application of their technical skills), and maintaining a reasonable time-line for completion. This form of support



also provides educational opportunities that encourage hands-on learning within the student’s primary discipline through critique of designs and project analyses.

1. Institutional Support: Referring specifically to the U.S. university initiating the international project, several forms of institutional support can significantly contribute to success in these projects. The type and level of support required will depend strongly on the program considered, but critical areas needed by all programs include:

a. Financial: Universities and their alumni can be of valuable assistance to fund-raising efforts by providing expertise through development offices, contacts with potential donors, and permission to students to associate their projects with the university insignias and name. Beyond university resources, building confidence within the realm of regular funding sources (e.g., research grants, Rotary Clubs, alumni clubs, local foundations) can be of extraordinary benefit in reducing the time and effort required for fund-raising on individual projects.

b. Relationships: Existing institutional relationships with foreign partners can provide substantial assistance in developing appropriate in-country contacts and projects. Such relationships may involve university – university exchange programs, research collaborations, or university relationships with NGOs (e.g., such organizations as the Peace Corps or Catholic Relief Services), foundations, or governmental agencies (e.g., USAID).

c. Travel Logistics: While international travel is possible through students making all of their own arrangements, substantial time and scale of efficiency is gained when the parent university develops an expertise in travel that supports international development program travel requirements. This might include support in travel arrangements, visas, legal disclaimers, immunizations, security, insurance and cultural awareness.

Continuing Challenges

While we do not wish to discourage others from embarking on international projects with students, it is strongly recommended that the following challenges identified among the four models above be addressed before embarking on student opportunities in university-based international development programs:1. Language and Culture: Language and culture

preparation, particularly for engineering undergraduates, can be a challenge in terms of existing language skills of students expressing interest in these programs, limited past international travel experiences, and opportunities within the engineering curriculum for the student to improve such skills. Further, in many areas of the world, the local language or dialect spoken is location-specific such that building language skills, except for very long-term projects such as the Peace Corps country placement, may not be a reasonable expectation. A preparation plan is extremely important.

2. Student Mismatch with Project: While the attributes desired of the members of the student team can be reasonably identified in advance (e.g., technical skills, desire for research or design experience, general personality traits, etc.), the common challenges of team dynamics are amplified when the team is working in the stressful environment of a developing community with partners from that country. Hence, a continuing challenge is dealing with students that for various reasons (e.g., health issues, personality conflict, or weakness in a critical technical or social skill) are not contributing to, or are a distraction from, project completion in country. Team selection is critical.

3. Health Issues and Security: Living and working outside of the United States exposes students to new challenges in terms of food, water supply, living conditions, transportation and, in some instances, personal safety. Further the students will have different (commonly lower) availability of medical care. Hence, health and security issues will always represent important challenges in international projects focused

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on water development. A comprehensive in-country logistics plan is paramount.

4. Project Continuity and Assessment: A challenge inherent in student projects is continuity and assessment of projects. Even under optimal circumstances, a particular group of students will not be involved in a project for more than two to three years. While there are strategies available to address this challenge (e.g., integrating student teams across class years, requiring returning students to brief incoming students on projects, etc.), it will continue to be a difficult challenge. A program designed for long-term project partnerships is fundamental.

5. Time In-country: While good planning is important to successful projects, most outcomes are proportional to the amount of time spent in the host community. Nevertheless it is clear that time away from campus is one of the chief obstacles for students and faculty. Accommodating this, plus myriad other constraints, is a major challenge and manifests itself in program design. The fact that there are so many program models reveals the mix of constraints unique to each institution and reaffirms our philosophy that one program "size" does not fit all. Program expectations must be commensurate with time in-country.

Questions Related to Faculty Commitment

As noted in the previous paragraph, faculty time and availability to both travel and complete program reports (usually in collaboration with student participants) at required times represents a continuing challenge. Associated with this challenge are questions of faculty commitment to these international efforts, as well as university reward structures for this type of activity. While programs such as the Global Engineering Program and the Peace Corps International Master’s demonstrate increasing interest in university administrations in formal outreach activities to developing countries, a number of questions remain as to the overall commitment that can be expected from faculty with respect to participation in student programs in hydrophilanthropy.

Within the Peace Corps International Master’s and Long-Term Research programs, for example,

substantial workload rests with the lead faculty to administer the program (e.g., market, recruit, select, track, mentor, field efforts, assess). For both of these programs, these duties are considered overload by the university administration (some minor administrative support is now being provided for the Peace Corps International Master’s program to help track the students through the various phases of the program, each yielding a variable tuition structure). The required engineering course, Engineering With Developing Communities, is also considered an overload by departmental administration and colleagues: a similar statement applies to the research courses of the Long-Term Research. Averaged over the year, the Peace Corps International Master’s activities collectively comprise more than 20 hours of additional work a week to the program lead (Paterson). Fortunately, significant support is contributed by departmental colleagues serving as research advisors (about 10 of 26 faculty), and some staff support to assist application processing and web site maintenance. Although less formally assessed, the yearly average work load for Long Term Research is on the order of 8 hours per week, heavily focused during the field research period.

University support for faculty commitment to these programs is expected to remain highly variable and dependent both on the format of the international program and the motivation and willingness of the individual university to encourage this type of activity. Despite the variability in university response, it is suggested that in the short run, faculty contributions to such international service, service-learning, and research efforts will be based largely on the motivation of the individual faculty member to both pursue these types of experiences and accept the professional consequences (including positive as well as negative) of the substantial time commitment necessary to make these programs successful.

Conclusions

We have overviewed four different models from which engineering students (undergraduate or graduate) can become involved in water resource development (supply, treatment, and hygiene), or “hydrophilanthropy,” in developing countries.



These models cover many spectrums from extra-curricular to curricular, design to research, short-term to long-term international experiences, and undergraduate to graduate students, and hence provide a broad perspective on critical program design and outcomes. A number of commonalities were identified across these models in terms of the attributes and resources necessary to provide a reasonable probability of success in an international water project. Further, a number of common challenges were identified across these models. From these observations, it is argued that the diversity of models through which engineering students might be encouraged to become involved in water resources in developing countries is quite broad. This leads to the overall conclusion, stated more completely above, that multiple models for student involvement in water resource development are available and each, when designed and implemented with due care, have the potential to have positive impact on both the students involved and the population impacted by the project. This also leads to the observation that “best practices” have not yet been identified, but are likely to be found through collaboration among multiple project models that allows integration of the stakeholder experiences (students, faculty, in-country population, in-country NGOs and government agencies) across the best attributes of each of these models.

Author Bios and Contact Information

Stephen Silliman is a professor of civil engineering and geological sciences at the University of Notre Dame. His research and teaching interests are focused on ground water hydraulics and contaminant (dissolved or particulate) transport processes, including numerical modeling and field characterization. A substantial portion of these efforts are focused on his international efforts focused originally on Haiti and more recently on Benin, West Africa. He has received recognition for his teaching and international work, and has won support for his domestic and international efforts through grants from private foundations, the U.S. National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Energy. He can be contacted at [email protected].

Rabi H. Mohtar is a professor of agricultural and biological engineering, as well as the Director of the Global

Engineering Program, at Purdue University. He received B.S. and M.S. degrees from the American University of Beirut, and an M.S. and Ph.D. from Michigan State University. His teaching / research interests include environmental sustainability; environmental and natural resource conservation; environmental impacts of land use and water management; innovative soil and ground water remediation; soil water processes across multiple scales; international sustainable water management; and global education. International experience includes Jordan, Gaza/West Bank, Tunisia, Lebanon, France, Brazil, Qatar, China, and India. He can be contacted at [email protected].

Kurtis G. Paterson has been on the environmental engineering faculty at Michigan Technological University since 1993. He currently serves as Director of Michigan Tech’s D80 Center. His research, teaching and service interests focus on appropriate technology solutions that improve public health, engineering service, and engineering education reform. He has served ASEE in numerous capacities, currently as chair of the International Advisory Committee. He is co-PI on several NSF-funded projects to measure the impacts of international service on developing engineers. He is co-author of two books: Engineering in Developing Communities: Water, Sanitation, and Indoor Air, and Environmental Engineering: Fundamentals, Sustainability, and Design. He can be contacted at [email protected].

William P. Ball is a professor of environmental engineering at Johns Hopkins University. He received his BS from the University of Virginia and his MS and Ph.D. degrees from Stanford University. Professional experience includes six years in international consulting working on water and wastewater treatment, as well as over twenty-five years of academic experience related to processes affecting pollutant fate and treatment. Since 2004, he has served as faculty advisor for the JHU chapter of EWB-USA and is currently the Associate Director of JHU’s Center of Water and Health. Professor Ball is an active founding participant in JHU’s nascent Global Water Program. He can be contacted at bball @ jhu.edu.

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engineering academic programs for hydrophilanthropy: commonalities and challenges

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