Engineers Without Borders Belfast.

As part of the EWB-Ireland network, our vision is: 'A world where everyone has access to the engineering they need for a life free from poverty.' We hope to raise awareness of humanitarian engineering work in the UK and Ireland and developing countries, educate through our school outreach and training events and have a great time through our networking and social events!

As a member youll learn skills in the 'Design - Prototype - Build' process. It encompasses pracical hands on working and design ideas, which can be used in almost any work environment.

You will also learn teamwork and communication skills, working in groups to talk about ideas and present them to others.

We hope to have many social events on this year, including:

• Christmas Dinner,
• Movie night,
• collaborations with other clubs
• and more!

What we do

The first few meetings involve researching the country given to us by EWB Ireland. Time will be spent looking into any problems, small or large, and brainstorming ideas as a group to overcome them. Set out to define what the problem is, and a possible solution or solutions to overcome it. Don't be afraid to think outside the box; all ideas are welcome, the more creative the better! 

Next is the design. Think about if the solution is sustainable, or if it can be made with recycled materials or the countries resources. Can it easily be put in place? Is it intuitive? Ask questions, talk to others and refine your idea into a product.

Finally prototype and build. Physically make a working model or concept of your design. Show off its features and create a presentation on how it will improve the country. The best ideas are entered into a competition in Dublin with other Universities to decide the winner.

Previous Winners / Ideas 

Due to COVID-19 the 2020 competition in Dublin was cancelled. Our teams came up with several good ideas such as 'The Stool stool' - a low cost DIY composting toilet AND a corn grinder + dryer which would allow corn to be preserved longer and eaten in times of drought.

Previous winning ideas presented in Dublin include the 'Biochar kiln' which created nutrient rich fertiliser for farmers,

'LifeLid' which turns dirty water into chlorinated water through electrolysis,

the 'TIDE Toolkit', a sanitation kit for women to look after their menstrual health 

and 'chaleur' which dried socks and clothes with a tealight for people in refugee camps