Blog
Stories from EWB Australia
A toilet that works underwater? Flood-affected sanitation in rural Cambodia
We’re living in the golden age of toilet design. It sounds like a weird thing to say but the idea of an inside toilet that immediately flushes waste away through a series of underground pipes is the kind of thing that would blow the minds of people living just 100...
Congratulations to the 2023 EWB Challenge Showcase award winners
Caption: EWB Challenge finalists preparing their presentation at the 2023 EWB Challenge Showcase held in Cairns. Each year, the EWB Challenge Showcase brings together top university student teams from across the country. Students present the most innovative,...
Building resilience to increasing uncertainty: the role of climate-resilient infrastructure
By Peter McArdle (Engineers Without Borders Australia), Anna Saxby (Humanitarian Advisory Group) and Neil Greet (Australian Security Leaders Climate Group) Increasing uncertainty Vanuatu is one of the most at risk countries in the world for natural disasters,...
What I learnt – EWB Design Summit Cambodia
Georgia is based in Brisbane, studying Engineering at the Queensland University of Technology, with Bachelors in Medical Engineering and Physics. More recently, Georgia has been shadowing medical and electrical engineers at Nova Biomedical as part of a work experience...
Bigger and Bolder: World Engineering for Sustainable Development Day 2020
A wonderful legacy of the World Engineers Convention held in Melbourne late last year was the birth of the annual World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development, that we celebrate today, Wednesday March 4th, 2020 - a critical bringing-together of the engineering...
EWB Australia student chapters launch into Semester One 2020
Across the country EWB Australia student chapters have been bringing energy and excitement to their university orientation events, introducing new students to the EWB community and the breadth of opportunities to engage and contribute while at university. Join us on a...
Making groundwater more accessible for Vanuatu communities
Groundwater is a vital resource in Vanuatu in which many depend on for their daily use. In a changing climate and with a growing population, demand for this resource is continuing to grow. Vanuatu’s archipelago consists of many small reef and volcanic islands which...
Electric Mobility in Rural Cambodia
The future of mobility technology is exciting, and will lead to higher quality, more affordable, easy to use and universally accessible products and services. It is critical that this emerging field keeps up with or leads broader global trends in mobility, such as the...
Supporting diversity at Mardi Gras 2020
“In Australia, LGBTQIA+ engineers are often asked, “why do you need to be out at work?” It’s not so much of being out, it’s more that I like to be transparent about who I am.“ - Tana Tan Dr Tana Tan is half Thai, half Malaysian, fully engineer, and fully gay (and...
Why EWB Australia’s professional training is unique
Do you feel frustrated with wanting to influence change and have an impactful career but don’t know how? EWB Training Programs guide professionals, like you, who want to use their work as a tool for positive impact by expanding your understanding of emerging global...
Melbourne Climate Change Event Wrap
On a Thursday evening in February we hosted a dialogue around climate action and sector responsibility. “Reimagining the role of the technical sector in the face of climate crisis” was a sell-out event, a nod to the passion and dedication of our community to ensure...
Work on water guidelines in Vanuatu
In Vanuatu, the Climate Crisis presents new challenges around access to safe water. Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6) is: CLEAN WATER AND SANITATION: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. Worldwide, 2 out of 5 people do...
Wetlands sanitation on the Tonle Sap Lake
World Wetlands Day (2nd February) raises global awareness about the importance of wetlands and the need to restore, conserve and promote sustainable use. The day was founded by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 1971, where contracting nations commit to identifying...
The EWB Challenge on the world stage
This year’s EWB Challenge Showcase was delivered in collaboration with the World Engineers Convention (WEC) and created a dynamic atmosphere that sets the bar for engagement and activation of the engineering and engineering education sectors. Each year, the EWB...
Portrait of a new stereotype
MePatricia Tatel, a student from the University of Queensland, joined as a volunteer on EWB's Torres Strait Regioneering trip last month. Led by EWB/Mecca MPower grant recipient Erin Hughes, the trip aimed to build on the school outreach work that EWB has previously...
1000 young leaders unleash on the SDGs
1000 participants. 150 facilitators. 9 days. 1 location. That's the United Nations UNLEASH, an annual program that started in 2018 (and will continue to 2030), where 1000 young leaders from various fields (and from over 160 countries) come together to generate new,...
Scoping for best-practice
Much has been written about the EWB Challenge—our ground-breaking, first-year University program, now in its 13th year. Embedded into the curriculum of 28 Australian and New Zealand Universities (and adopted by EWB organisations around the world), the EWB Challenge...
Water shortage solution for Cambodian families
4 EWB Field Professional volunteers placed with RWC since 2015 Underground rainwater tank pilot tested in 10 households (57 individuals total) Over 20 RWC staff and interns capacity strengthened Climate change has brought about significant drought and rain-scarcity...
Link Research Symposium 2019
On Monday 2nd December RMIT kindly hosted our annual Link Research Symposium. The Symposium is the closing event of the year where students engaged in the research program present their findings to staff, peers and members of the engineering education community. It...
ATEC* about to roll out first PAYGO-tech for biodigesters and expand across Asia
ATEC* Biodigesters (ATEC), an Australian Social Enterprise, has raised US$1,600,000 in a Series-B equity round to rollout the world’s first PAYGO (pay-as-you-go) model for biodigesters as well as to expand its operations from Cambodia to Bangladesh. The investment was...
Workshopping the new national guiding principles for sanitation in Cambodia
A key focus of our recent work in Cambodia has been the development of National Guiding Principles on Sanitation in Challenging Environments for Rural Households, a highly consultative process involving government (national and provincial), NGOs, UNICEF, WHO,...
How demonstration toilets inform the socialisation of Vanuatu’s sanitation and hygiene guidelines
On Vanuatu’s 85 islands, many people live in challenging sanitation environments, including areas that are drought or flood-prone, coastal, on hard rock, with high groundwater or in difficult social contexts. Sanitation issues in Vanuatu are exacerbated by natural...
Teach a girl to fish
Erin and the MECCA-M Power grant: Chapter One. On the eve of setting off on my trip to the Torres Strait as part of my undertaking for the MECCA-M Power grant, I’ve been reflecting on how this project is a fantastic synergy of my personal journey. A very strong theme...
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