Tag: research

RMIT challenge seniors and Mo etc 1

Australian-first humanitarian engineering program expanded until 2030

Posted on | by Vikki Hine

New funding will support an Australian-first project that brings together engineering students and diverse communities in search of solutions.

RMIT first-year engineering students are meeting with community groups in Victoria and New South Wales to co-design and prototype innovative engineering solutions to solve community problems. A recent surge in support has seen the funding pool increase from $10,000 to $40,000, bringing the total to $210,000 until 2030.

The project sits within RMIT’s Humanitarian Engineering Lab, co-led by Dr Spyros Schismenos and Dr Nick Brown, and its recently established HERCULES – which stands for Humanitarian Engineering Research Consortium: Understanding and Leveraging Engineering with Society.

It is a collaboration between RMIT and SydWest Multicultural Services, Settlement Services International and PRONIA – all not-for-profits (NFPs) which work with culturally and linguistically diverse communities, including migrants, asylum seekers and refugees.

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RMIT students and project Jul24 scaled 1

Groundbreaking consortium puts community at the heart of engineering solutions

Posted on | by Vikki Hine

LATEST NEWS
25 July 2024

A first-of-its-kind community co-design consortium will provide engineering students the opportunity to ‘shift the dial’ on some big challenges facing diverse communities across Australia. 

Last week RMIT University in Melbourne met with SydWest Multicultural Services, Settlement Services International and Pronia – all not-for-profit organisations who work with multicultural communities – to establish an alliance that will ensure engineering students work on real world challenges through community engagement. 

The alliance project – RMIT Humanitarian Engineering Research Consortium/Understanding and Leveraging Engineering with Society – has been dubbed HERCULES. 

Dr. Spyros Schismenos, lecturer in Humanitarian Engineering, is the co-leader of RMIT’s Humanitarian Engineering Lab. He is passionate about the advancement of innovative teaching and research at the intersection of human-centered design, technology, and experiential learning. 

SydWest has already kicked off an engagement challenge with RMIT through Dr Schismenos, where students will soon visit Western Sydney to talk with local seniors about challenges and concerns that might be resolved through engineering. 

SydWest CEO Elfa Moraitakis said the impetus to join the HERCULES consortium grew from the students’ overwhelming response to the RMIT SydWest Engagement Challenge. 

“Working from a strength-based perspective enables individuals and communities to provide insights and solutions to the challenges impacting them,” she said. “This approach also enables students to develop important engagement skills early in their career and to design engineering solutions with the end-user in mind. 

“The Western Sydney region is a diverse and vibrant area with a mix of unique challenges and creative insights and perspectives which will provide students with a rich learning ground.’