We will provide attendees an opportunity to participate in an interactive Human Centred Design workshop that will encourage collaborative and creative problem-solving and connect human-centred solutions to the engineering principles that are needed to implement them. Participants will be challenged to address a specific social issue relevant in their everyday lives. The event will not only foster empathy, which is a skill needed to help individuals navigate a rapidly changing world, but will also highlight how engineering can solve problems that may not necessarily appear to have a technological solution or be ‘engineering problems’ in nature.
In the past, we have addressed social and environmental issues such as food security, climate change, accessible transportation, and the gender divide in engineering.
The primary objective of this program will be to create awareness about how engineering has the potential to support positive social change in order to engage a more diverse audience with respect to gender, race/ethnicity, people with disabilities, and other groups who are under-represented in engineering. We also aim to support leaders in engineering and related fields who work with young people (e.g. engineering mentors, science and math teachers) to promote interdisciplinary, creative, and human-centred approaches to engineering.
Our event will be designed as a 90-minute workshop for up to 40 participants. The session will be led by several experienced facilitators and our participants will be encouraged to contribute to discussions and activities using Google Slides and other interactive online tools.
