Chapter Spotlight: How McMaster EWB is Engineering Change in Hamilton
With a new school year just around the corner, many of our 20+ EWB academic chapters across Canada have started their recruitment processes. Host of events such as the Global Engineering Conference (GEC), our McMaster University chapter is in recruitment processes, getting ready for another impactful year!
Our second academic chapter to be highlighted in our series is McMaster University’s EWB Chapter. From hosting Global Engineering Conferences (GEC), workshops and seminars, McMaster University’s EWB chapter is always engaging with engineering students to share the mission, vision, and goals of EWB. One of this year’s 2024 Canada-Africa Innovation Fellowship fellows, Ishan Sharma, who was a part of the Optimus Lumina team that created ways to optimize solar usage among farmers in the Nakayojo region, is also a part of this chapter.
For the upcoming school year, McMaster University’s EWB Chapter is working on getting more students involved. In addition, the chapter is focused on trying to get their name and influence more out there for the incoming class. By sharing what EWB Canada does and the opportunities students can gain once joining the chapter, they believe that they’re able to facilitate a space where students can create positive systemic change to address challenges, both on and off campus.
The Chapter also shared that, many of the team members believe that as future engineers, they have a duty to develop positive, innovative and sustainable change for their communities and the best way to do that is to gain first-hand experience in the issues that are being faced by marginalized people everyday. That is why this year, McMaster University’s EWB Chapter plans to set their members up for success by matching them with volunteer opportunities off-campus, to observe the issues being faced, right in “their backyard.” By promoting this new initiative, the Chapter hopes to open more students up to the concepts and foundations of human-centered design, so that they will be eager to learn more about it in the future.
One of the main missions of the McMaster University’s EWB Chapter wants to share through all of their incredible, hard work, is to show others how rewarding and valuable it is to be a part of an EWB academic chapter. Many executive members of the McMaster University’s EWB Chapter team, told us that being a part of the chapter had given them amazing insights into global issues and how to leverage engineering and technological skills to tackle them. They also feel that the chapter has given them a place where they can feel supported and encouraged to make a real impact in the world, especially because they get the opportunity to meet many like-minded individuals and subject-matter experts, that they can grow with and learn from. Many of the students agreed that being a part of the chapter gave them the resources they felt they needed to create positive and sustainable change in the world at large, post-graduation.
Are you an engineering student from McMaster University that wants to be a part of a team of dedicated students working to make a positive difference in the world? Then apply today to create long-lasting change!
Check out @mcmasterewb on Instagram and on LinkedIn at McMaster Engineers Without Borders, for more information and to keep up to date about all of their amazing projects. EWB Canada applauds the efforts made by the EWB McMaster Chapter and cannot wait to see the future innovations they will bring to their communities by leveraging technologies to address challenges!