HELA

Initiative name

HLEA: Humanitarian Engineering, Las Americas

I. Vision and Purpose of HELA

HELA will be the ecosystem of the Americas continent for social and educational innovation through humanitarian engineering (HE). It will be made up of actors of diverse nature and from different levels of society, whose commitment is to achieve an engineering education with the resources, concepts, tools, and supports to bring engineering to the service of vulnerable communities.

II. Fundamental HELA Principles

HELA is governed by fundamental principles and values, which must govern any program, project, or initiative developed within the framework of the proposed ecosystem:

HELA’s moral, methodological, and political principles:

• Dialogue of knowledge and interdisciplinarity: a horizontal relationship between engineering, communities, and other areas of knowledge.
• Engineering must practice epistemic humility, equity, and respect
• Commitment to social justice, good living, diversity, equity, and inclusion for disadvantaged communities.
• Practices oriented toward sustainability, social, and environmental responsibility.
• Understanding, valuing, and respecting the perspectives and needs of communities, promoting local capacities, empowering them, and respecting their expectations and values, through professional and political action.
• Commitment to bringing about the necessary changes in engineering education and culture.
• Application of critical thinking and complex, multidimensional analysis in engineering education and practice.
• Practice engineering interculturally by recognizing diverse practices, values, and community knowledge.
• Engineering education with service learning, collaborative work, challenge-based and project-based learning, as well as social innovation, co-creation, and collaborative design.

III. Prospectives and Actions

To achieve the HELA vision, it is proposed to position LACCEI as the spearheading organization through the following strategies, according to several lines of action:

Line 1: HELA’s Mission

1. To be a multi-stakeholder promoter in the development of events that promote HE in engineering education in the Americas.
2. In collaboration with the organization, Diversa, (or similar organizations) provide a range of HE programs and projects.

Line 2: Articulation for the Strategic Development of the Mission

3. HELA will become a multi-stakeholder platform that articulates initiatives around HE and other committed engineering sectors in the Americas: universities, communities, professional organizations, and local government and non-governmental organizations.
4. It will be necessary to form a HELA LACCEI committee with a select group of people representing institutions committed to the HELA principles.
5. HELA will provide a point of collaboration between the US Engineers without Borders and other such organizations in the American continent.
6. A website will be established with information and resources to support the HELA initiative.
7. The annual LACCEI multi-conference will be the ideal setting for HELA’s dissemination and dialogue, positioning LACCEI as a leading organization in supporting HE in Las Americas.
8. HELA will provide a database of sources of financing for HE projects and opportunities for international mobility for students and professors.
9. HELA will seek to coordinate with national and international engineering education associations and councils in Latin America to create ethical standards for HELA.

Line 3: Capacity Building and Development of a HELA Culture

10. HELA will provide universities with training opportunities for faculty, administrators, and students in engineering schools linked to the ecosystem through COIL courses, bootcamps, seminars, and workshops with the following goals:
    1. To train students for research and development of HE projects, respectful community engagement, and to obtain funding.
    2. Prepare students to transform engineering culture, lead student communities, and participate in HE-related competitions.
    3. Train teachers to understand, think, practice and teach engineering from a humanitarian perspective.
    4. Develop the capacities of engineering faculty leaders to advance HELA, e.g., understanding the relationship between HE and international accreditation, creating strategies aligned with institutional policy, and supporting curriculum redesign, among others.