BHP Billiton, EWB support students in sustainable development
University students across Australia and New Zealand have been given the opportunity to learn more about sustainable development and the concepts of humanitarian engineering thanks to support from global resources company BHP Billiton.
BHP Billiton Sustainable Communities (BSC), a charity established by BHP Billiton as part of its vast community investment program, has teamed up with Engineers Without Borders (EWB), sponsoring the EWB Challenge program since 2008. The support of BHP Billiton Sustainable Communities enables the extensive implementation of the EWB Challenge to first-year university courses across Australia and New Zealand, helps supports EWB Challenge showcase events in the region, and provides funding for the EWB Challenge Scholarship Program.
The scholarship program provides development opportunities, internships, and research projects to the value of A$10,000 for emerging leaders in the field of sustainable development so that they may create positive change through humanitarian engineering. The scholarship program is specifically designed to recognize high achieving and values driven students who are passionate about applying their engineering skills to the objectives of community development and poverty eradication.
Photo courtesy of BHP Billiton
"The program supports students through their final three years of university study. The scholars are all highly motivated and very passionate about ensuring that their careers will have a social benefit. It is inspiring to think about what the future holds with these young people in leadership positions," said Lizzy Brown, CEO of Engineers Without Borders Australia.
In addition to the scholarship program, the partnership between EWB and the BSC offers the EWB Challenge, a first-year university design program aimed at introducing students to concepts of humanitarian engineering. Each year the program reaches approximately 10,000 students across 52 universities where students are challenged to develop engineering solutions to real-life issues facing the developing world.
Common issues facing communities aided by EWB programs include access to drinking water, sanitation, energy, basic infrastructure, waste systems, information communication technology and engineering education.
Since its establishment in 2007, the EWB Challenge has inspired students to work on designs for communities in India, Cambodia, Vietnam, rural Australia, Timor Leste and Nepal.
Olivia McCombe, a RMIT Electrical Engineering student and recipient of one of five winners of the EWB Challenge Scholarship, said she had developed a keen interest in the issue of energy poverty and looked forward to furthering her studies in the area with the help of the scholarship.
"I used to romanticize the idea of life off the grid but it eventually dawned on me that electricity is about more than flickering fluorescent tube lights; the history of its distribution has been about lifting generations out of abject poverty, enabling the exchange of ideas, and keeping warm, among other things," McCombe said.
For BHP Billiton, the partnership is reflective of the company's commitment to sustainability. "The projects that students develop through the EWB Challenge are truly remarkable and we're proud to support our next generation of engineers in making a difference to the lives of people in developing countries," said Tony Cudmore, BHP Billiton's president of corporate affairs.
"As the world's largest diversified resource company we count a large number of engineers among our workforce. Many of these employees put their own time and effort toward making a difference for disadvantaged people and this is exactly the type of community involvement the partnership with EWB promotes," he continued.
Scholarship recipient and RMIT Electrical Engineering student Olivia McCombe
Photo courtesy of BHP Billiton
Mikaila Adams | Managing Editor - News
Mikaila Adams has 20 years of experience as an editor, most of which has been centered on the oil and gas industry. She enjoyed 12 years focused on the business/finance side of the industry as an editor for Oil & Gas Journal's sister publication, Oil & Gas Financial Journal (OGFJ). After OGFJ ceased publication in 2017, she joined Oil & Gas Journal and was named Managing Editor - News in 2019. She holds a degree from Texas Tech University.
