Fulfilling Engineering Program Objectives through Service Learning Campaigns in Developing Countries

CEDC is structured similar to a business unit, such that a project manager role is awarded to talented students during their second semester of involvement with the organization. During subsequent semesters, project managers who demonstrate outstanding abilities are promoted to a director’s role. The initial semester allows team members (project engineers) to become oriented to a project.

At the beginning of the semester, the directors outline the semester goals for their respective divisions. Once the goals are set, the director is responsible for defining a milestone schedule to achieve these goals and holding the project managers accountable for meeting each milestone deadline. Project managers have a firm grasp of the design opportunities within their specialization and organize and lead four to five project engineers to a common goal. Project managers facilitate brainstorming sessions to determine multiple solutions to a given problem. Project teams perform a feasibility study for each solution, and based on the results, the project manager chooses a direction for the team to pursue.

As a part of CEDC membership status, students are expected to work in teams to accomplish complex design tasks. Each student project team is assigned to focus on the tasks needed to improve the public health of one specific village. When a task requires technical expertise beyond the capacity of the project team, a subject matter expert (SME) is brought in for advice. A CEDC SME is a skilled graduate student, professor, or industry professional who specializes in the field of inquiry. These project teams must work together as an intradisciplinary civil engineering group, and additionally, these teams work with SMEs as a larger interdisciplinary team to accomplish goals outside of their engineering specialties.

Communicating effectively includes both understanding what others are attempting to communicate and expressing ideas to others in a concise manner. CEDC communication activities include presentations to professional and student organizations, local businesses, large corporations, and undergraduate classes. Additionally, students are selected to give interviews for media outlets. Students must adapt their presentation styles to appropriately address each of these unique audiences.

CEDC teams also interact with local professional engineers, who review completed design documents. The design teams must prepare the design documents with sufficient clarity to convey design intent to construction crews, who often receive their instructions through a third-party translator. To help address this issue of clarity, once design drawings are completed and reviewed, the design team typically prepares supplementary manuals and other technical documentation to accompany progress reports for client representatives in Haiti. This documentation often takes the form of step-by-step instructions with photo insertions. Because of field miscommunications, continuous construction oversight is required. CEDC provides interns who serve as construction managers to mitigate these concerns.

In the classroom, posttrip reports and postsemester reports are used to maintain continuity between the semesters of the class. These reports document as many details as possible. Students describe design documents and their methods of development in depth, similar to what is executed in a typical civil engineering capstone design class.

As a result of the earthquake, the CEDC student teams in Haiti faced numerous challenges that are unique to working in an international environment. Coordination with international organizations was required to ensure the safety of the team traveling to Cange. Building materials and supplies required for even the most basic reconstruction efforts were not readily available. CEDC tries to maximize the use of local labor and materials to support the community’s economic activity. However, the local labor force often is not sufficiently trained to interpret design documents or execute complex construction operations. The economic and social benefits of using labor-intensive materials versus materials with low labor costs but a higher material cost is a constant consideration. Facility design documents must be crafted to ensure that all construction can be accomplished with hand tools because heavy construction equipment is not available.

Students also face challenges unique to working in another country and culture. For instance, no formal building codes exist on a large scale within Haiti. Students had to consider the ethics of this situation, and their solution was to execute CEDC designs in compliance with U.S. code requirements for both seismic and wind events. Another cultural challenge was the reluctance of Cange residents to provide design feedback related to the community water stations. Students determined that the community members were hesitant because they thought that expressing a dislike for the ergonomics of the designs would be an insult to CEDC. To avoid requiring the community members to express negative thoughts, the CEDC team drafted three designs and modified the questioning by asking which aspects the community favored most. As CEDC continues working with the community of Cange, the group has become increasingly aware of cultural differences and continues to work to address these differences.

In early 2009, the authors initiated contact with a group of Clemson University students to brainstorm ways in which the students could best participate in activities outside the classroom that would satisfy the students’ desire to help in the developing world and serve as differentiators on an employment resume. The discussions soon focused on international service work in general and in particular on creating an autonomous organization serving developing countries. Although the university has a successful chapter of EWB, the students were of the strong opinion that creating their own organization would better enhance student interest and participation. Clemson University recognized Clemson Engineers for Developing Countries as a university student organization in January 2010. Civil engineering faculty and university administrators have observed that, indeed, permitting the students themselves to develop their own objectives, select their own peer reviewers, and make their own fundraising decisions has greatly enhanced their leadership, teamwork, and communication skills. The CEDC faculty advisor strongly believes that student groups such as CEDC should be given the maximum amount of autonomy possible under whatever constraining policies may exist within the academic institution.

Requiring the students to acquire the funds necessary to finance CEDC’s efforts creates numerous opportunities for students to participate in fundraising presentations to nontechnical audiences, thus greatly enhancing their teamwork and communication skills. The attention following the earthquake in Haiti and the fact that students were working in Cange before the earthquake most likely increased their ability to raise funds from church groups, civic organizations, and industry sponsors. Students are currently contacting major corporate entities to solicit long-term financial support for CEDC.

The student group has been interviewed and filmed on numerous occasions by university and statewide press media. Selecting engineering projects with a high degree of public interest has proven to be an excellent means for the students to practice and perfect their communication skills.

EWB and other well-established student organizations have formal built-in mechanisms for industry interaction and peer design review. CEDC students, however, were forced to seek out their own industry partners. The project in Cange, Haiti, was identified initially through contact with the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina. Local professional engineers associated with the Episcopal Diocese gave CEDC students the opportunity to assist with the design and construction work in Cange. CEDC students expanded these contacts by establishing their own group of industry advisors. Interacting closely with students, David Vaughn volunteers as an ongoing industry advisor who provides expertise in contingency operations, management, and engineering in an international environment. Students also benefit from establishing closer outside-the-classroom interactions with faculty members from multiple departments. This interaction is mutually beneficial; the faculty members gain a better understanding of student perspectives and growth.

It is an understatement to say that executing engineering design work in a developing country such as Haiti requires comprehension of the local demographics, government, religion, history, and culture in general. CEDC students had unique opportunities to participate in religious services and festival celebrations during their visits. Their design alternatives for community fountains required carefully prepared interactions with the local population as well as with others who have spent considerable time working in the country.