Foundations of Humanitarian Engineering

Module 1 introduces the foundation of Humanitarian Engineering, a branch of engineering that combines technical

knowledge with empathy, ethics, and social understanding to create solutions that serve humanity.

While traditional engineering often focuses on efficiency, cost, and performance,

humanitarian engineering expands the goal to include equity, sustainability, and resilience—particularly

for communities that are vulnerable, marginalised, or affected by crises. The module emphasises

that modern engineers are not just problem-solvers, but also problem definers, communicators,

and facilitators of social change. This means understanding the social, cultural,

and environmental context of a problem before designing any technical intervention. Students are also