For my Practicum project I took part in both of the organizations: Engineers Without Borders and Maryland Sustainability Engineering. These are sister student organizations located at the University of Maryland which focus on the design and implementation of engineering solutions to different issues across the globe. Specific projects are founded by partnering with other firms and governments to locate a problem and zero in on how to solve it. I am currently a member of the Nakifuma, Uganda Project through Engineers Without Borders, in addition to the Tanzania Project through Maryland Sustainability Engineering.
The Nakifuma, Uganda Project is partnered with the St. Anne Grace School, located in Nakifuma. The school currently has an insufficient number of adequate latrines, those of which experience routine flooding, & are inaccessible to students with disabilities. Our project aims to successfully implement renovated latrines along with satisfactory water distribution and sanitation systems to be able to be used by the students and faculty, along with people throughout the surrounding community.
Meanwhile, the Tanzania Project is focused on the design and installation of backup electrical and water distribution systems at different sites throughout the Morogoro and Pwani regions of Tanzania. Healthcare facilities there currently use the municipal power and water, which experience frequent blackouts that can last up to eight hours, in addition to water shortages throughout the dry seasons. This heavily impacts patient care and the capabilities of the healthcare infrastructure. We hope to implement backup electricity and water systems to allow the healthcare facilities to operate sufficiently even when the main sources are not up and running.
Due to the transition to being fully virtual, we were unable to make our assessment trips for either project, but still made the most of our time over Zoom. We have spent the majority of the past year focusing on increasing our team skills, competencies, and resources. We have taken part in a wide variety of project related workshops including workshops on solar powered systems, remote implementation, water quality testing and sanitation, CAD, and cultural competency.
Throughout my time with Engineers Without Borders and Maryland Sustainability Engineering, I have learned a tremendous amount of how the engineering principles we learn in the classroom are applied to field work in the real world. Surprisingly, the process of completing engineering solution projects in class and in the real world are quite similar and have almost identical engineering design process steps. I was also able to become a part of the Nakifuma, Uganda team and the Tanzania team, both of which were very rewarding. In doing so, I was able to confirm my passion for engineering and reassured my decision of switching from the environmental science and policy major to the engineering school.
While I am still unsure of which discipline of engineering I would like to pursue throughout my career, my time with EWB and MDSE has allowed me to confirm that engineering is the path for me, while it has also opened up my mind to the possibility of civil engineering. Most of the work we have done for the two projects is centered around the disciple of civil engineering, which I have enjoyed. I am also very passionate about the combat against climate change, and these projects have also taught me that creating sustainable resource infrastructure can definitely help in that fight. I am currently working towards a minor in Sustainability which I hope will supplement my degree in Mechanical Engineering and allow me to find work similar to what I have found through my Practicum project. Overall, Engineers Without Borders, and Maryland Sustainability Engineering are both great student organizations to join and I plan on staying with them throughout the rest of my undergraduate career.