2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Creating Inclusive Engineers through Humanitarian Engineering: Quantitative Results from a Survey

Presented at Community Engagement Division 4 - Cultivating Engineering Excellence through Mentorship and Humanitarian Engineering

This paper builds on continuing research to study the impact of humanitarian engineering projects on student professional formation and views of diversity, equity, and inclusion. It is well-known that engineering lacks diversity and attempts to increase representation of women and racial minorities has not been as fruitful as hoped. The goals of this research study aim to create a more inclusive and equitable workplace environment through student involvement in humanitarian engineering projects. Thus far, the project has shown positive results through qualitative analysis of two open-ended questions from a survey [2]. The survey also employed two existing Likert-scaled instruments: the Engineering Professional Responsibility Assessment and the Valuing Diversity and Enacting Inclusion in Engineering instrument. This paper will focus on the quantitative results from these instruments in the survey from three participant groups: current engineering students at Lipscomb University, alumni of the engineering program at Lipscomb, and engineering professionals who are not affiliated with Lipscomb University. The results are compared to data from the existing instruments with a focus on connectedness and inclusive behaviors. Additionally, comparisons were made across sub-groups separated by involvement or non-involvement in humanitarian engineering projects. Interestingly, the quantitative results show significant difference from the existing instruments for the dimensions examined but little significance across the sub-groups. Data from two students who participated in the questionnaire before and after participating in a humanitarian engineering project is also presented. From these results, the authors conclude that the sampling methods may have had an impact on the mixed significance and that further qualitative methods may be appropriate for deeper study. For future work, the project team will conduct interviews with selected participants toward building a model for creating inclusive engineers through humanitarian engineering projects.

Authors

Dr. Kirsten Heikkinen Dodson http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5626-4393 Lipscomb University [biography]

Kirsten Heikkinen Dodson (pronouns: she/her) is an Associate Professor and the Chair of Mechanical Engineering in the Raymond B. Jones College of Engineering at Lipscomb University. She earned her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Lipscomb University and her Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University before returning to her alma mater. Her research interests focus on the connections between humanitarian engineering, engineering education, and equity and inclusion topics. She primarily teaches thermal-fluid sciences as well as introductory and advanced design courses. In addition to her courses and research, she serves as the Associate Director for Research and Education for the Peugeot Center. With the center, she is also an active leader for humanitarian engineering student project teams, primarily working in Guatemala.
Amelia Elizabeth Cook Lipscomb University [biography]

Amelia Cook is an undergraduate student in the Raymond B. Jones College of Engineering at Lipscomb University. Amelia is studying mechanical engineering and, following her graduation, will be starting her career in engineering consulting as an EIT. She is currently researching the connections of humanitarian engineering projects affecting views of diversity, inclusion, equity, and professional development.
Lewis Ngwenya Lipscomb University [biography]

Lewis Ngwenya is an undergraduate student at Lipscomb University. He is studying electrical and computer engineering and plans to get some experience in the workforce before pursuing graduate school. Lewis Ngwenya has been working with Dr. Dodson to research how humanitarian engineering projects impact professional formation and views of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Ms. Hannah Grace Duke Lipscomb University [biography]

Hannah Duke is an undergraduate student in the Raymond B. Jones College of Engineering at Lipscomb University. Hannah is studying mechanical engineering and plans to continue on to graduate school, following the completion of her undergraduate degree, to

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