2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) students are equipped with a toolbox of many relevant tools for working on international development projects. These include low-cost, open-source microcontrollers (such as the Arduino) and computers (e.g. Raspberry Pi), low-cost communications devices (e.g. Ubiquiti equipment), low-cost solar panels and LED lights, etc. There is an opportunity to engage ECE students in humanitarian engineering-oriented capstone projects that are focused on addressing the UN Sustainable Development goals in underserved communities around the world.
These types of projects are particularly engaging with today’s students who are interested in making a difference in the world and may struggle to see such an impact in traditional electrical engineering curricula. The topic of humanitarian engineering may be particularly important for women and minorities underrepresented in electrical and computer engineering. It also can help instructors address the challenging ABET outcomes related to global and social responsibility.
Over the last fifteen years, the author has engaged over 100 ECE students in capstone projects oriented towards humanitarian engineering. In this paper, the evolution of curricular elements to address the special requirements for conducting such projects will be presented along with examples of projects and student outcomes for such projects.