Our mission is to support community-driven development programs worldwide through partnerships and sustainable engineering projects. At the same time we aim to generate a unique education process for students through transformative experiences that enrich global perspectives and create responsible global leaders.

To achieve this goal, the Center developed programs that interact and consider the needs and abilities of the three main involved\ influenced; the students, the community members and the environment.

For the students, the programs are an opportunity to work with a community, within a group, as developers and capacity builders. They learn about and work in different environments, with different people, cultures, technologies, etc. all as part of an holistic sustainable approach and more. They get the tools to work on real world issues and gain a “hands-on” experience. This crystallize their personal and professional responsibilities and abilities. The process leads to leadership skills and ultimately to the development of a socially responsible, professional Global Engineer\Professional.

For the community, the programs are a chance to develop their community and improve their quality of life. They contribute their knowledge, abilities and all strengths to work within the partnership for developing and implementation of different project chosen by all partners. This empower the community members, expose them to new technologies and tools and allow them to gain personal and professional development as well. This leads to leadership skills, that in time promote the change and encourage initiative within the community towards better quality of life.

In this process, all partners consider the sustainable and environmental issues that effect and can be effected by the actions. The leading guidelines in our work, as part of the holistic approach, is that any negative impact on the environment will eventually lead to a negative impact on a community, even if it will be another community or only future generation. The second one is that we have to find a way to create sustainable project, either they will only use as bandaid and at time the issue will reappear, and it may be even worse.

The Programs:

The Center for Global Engineering holds the UNESCO Chair for Sustainable Engineering in Developing Communities and is home to;

• Technion Chapter of Engineers without Borders (EwB); the ‘hands on’ experience of (not only) engineering students through planning and implementation of sustainable programs with different communities, local and global, in hope to improve their quality of life.
• Engineering for Developing Communities course (EDC); a for credit, intensive academic program where students get the set of tools to do participatory work with a community for sustainable development.
• Research; on subject as technology, community development and education.

How we work?

Our Partnership process, is the guideline for each partnership from initiate the connection, through mapping, analysing, participatory decision making for an issue to address. By design and implementation of a project. And all the way trough monitoring, evaluation and redesign and implementation if needed. Including scale up and next project or “exit” the partnership.

“The Center for Global Engineering was created in order to give our students the platform and opportunity to work on real world issues, to become better engineers, better citizens to lead the way to positive impact”

Prof. Mark Talesnick, founder of the Center for Global Engineering, Technion.

Hear more from Mark Talesnik about the center and our EwB Project in Nepal;