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MECH 410 Global Engineering Leadership: Mexico
Update
Global Engineering Leadership students recently received the E-Fest 2012 Community Service Learning Award! Shalaleh Rismani, Roein Manafi, and Pranav Chintalapati were recognized for their outstanding contributions to community development in Mexico. Full story
Open to all students.
You should be able to complete coursework at a fourth-year level. Participants will be selected based on an interview and a review process that considers their academic record.
Application Deadline
Six spaces remaining. Posting will close once spaces are full.
MECH 410E/ 410P is a 6-credit course and international service learning placement that has multiple components. First, you attend an on-campus seminar class in May-June, 2012. Following class completion, you will participate in 8 weeks of fieldwork and course assignments from June-August. This is followed by a return seminar and final project on campus in September.
Learning objectives
- To enrich MECH 410 course material through hands-on experience in a wide range of projects in both social and cultural contexts
- To be able to carry out systemic mapping of global and technical issue within human, economic, and environmental systems
- To develop critical thinking skills outside of traditional engineering problems and introduce concepts, theory and practice of engineering leadership in a service context
- To develop self assessment skills and to deepen understanding of social sustainability and service ethics
- To enhance critical thinking, intercultural communication, teamwork, and leadership skills.
Program Cycle
This is a two-part application:
PART A: Enrollment in a 3-credit Mechanical Engineering course (MECH 410E) that will take place in a seminar course from May-June, 2012
PART B: 8-week International Service Learning program in Mexico (June-August, 2012), as MECH 410P (practicum). During your ISL placement you will complete related assignments to complete the requirement for an additional 3-credits. This placement counts as an Impact of Technology on Society elective for Applied Science students.
If you are registered in MECH 410 and 410P, you will receive a total of 6 credits.
PART A
MECH 410: Global Engineering Leadership course information
Global Engineering Leadership is designed to introduce upper-year students to concepts, theory and practice of engineering leadership in an international service learning context. The course will develop engineering leadership characteristics: understanding and respect for individual and cultural differences in team building, service and management contexts; managing change, conflicts, and crises; and understanding real-world ethics and core values.
If you register into MECH 410, you will participate in the class (in the form of lecture, seminar or workshops) during Summer Term 1 (May 7-June 15, 2012) for 3-credits. The class culminates in a local, Vancouver-based Community Service Learning (CSL) project.
PART B
International Service Learning Placement in Chiapas, Mexico/MECH 410P (practicum)
If selected for an ISL placement, you will participate in an 8-week placement with our community partner organization, Tsomanotik, in Chiapas State Mexico. You will also be registered in MECH 410P for 3 credits. Course-work for MECH 410P will involve assignments to be done during the ISL placement (reflective journals, daily logs) as well as assignments to be completed in September 2012.
While participating in an ISL program you can expect an intense immersion experience with well-defined learning goals. To ensure you are well supported, and to foster meaningful learning, our program and staff engage you before, during and after your international placement through:
- Pre-departure program (January - April, 2012): Six pre-departure learning sessions taking place over the academic term leading up to departure (these sessions are in addition to your MECH 410 course work). You will discuss issues such as power, privilege, critical reflection, systems thinking, and history of development. You will also create a personal learning and development plan, reviewed with an ISL advisor. There will also be participant-led fundraising events that encourage learning, awareness within the wider community and development of team work and decision-making skills.
- During your international placement (June - August, 2012): You will attend an orientation focusing on the volunteer placement and region, based on the framework of the program’s learning theme, with the community-based organization Tsomanotik. You will work in tandem with Tsomanotik to address regional and specific issues in a community. Service will be supported by learning sessions facilitated by a local representative and an in-session workshop facilitated by UBC staff or local representatives.
- Post-placement (September - October 2012): Upon return from your placement, you will engage in a facilitated group debrief and reflection session(s). There is also the expectation that you will present your learning experience at a public engagement event. These are in addition to MECH 410P post-placement course assignment completion.
Community Placement and Partner for MECH 410P
This project will take place with our community partner, a non-governmental organization called Tsomanotik in Chiapas State, Mexico. Tsomanotik is an eco-agricultural centre for just and sustainable community development. Their vision is for solidarity and a more just society where marginalized groups in Chiapas are heard and play an active role in the community development process.
Projects will focus on small clean energy development (solar panels, energy efficient wood stoves), water and energy usage reduction in agriculture using appropriate technology. Tsomanotik has been developing appropriate technology prototypes on site; their current priorities are to improve the functioning of appropriate technology prototypes on site and build foundations to implement successful prototypes in community settings (households, organizations): assessing feasibility, gathering feedback from the community and involving community members as co-designers / partners in sustainability solutions. Current project plans for summer 2012 include*:
- Building an improved design for a grey-water system in Tsomanotik. The grey-water system collects water from kitchen use, recycles it, and utilizes the water for irrigation. The project will include trouble-shooting design problems and making necessary modifications, working in a cross-cultural team with Mexican university students and international volunteers and potentially gathering information regarding reductions in water usage. This project will build on the work of UBC students participating in a Reading Week placement at Tsomanotik in February 2012.
- Work with community members and a cross-cultural team of UBC and Mexican university students to build a solar hot water system in a children’s home in the nearby community of Comitan. This project will build on a feasibility study conducted by UBC students participating in a Reading Week placement at Tsomanotik in February 2012.
- Conduct various projects related to a sewage pollution reduction campaign. Tsomanotik has high-functioning composting toilets on-site and are interested in conducting pilot projects to build toilets along with a broader awareness campaign in the nearby community of Tzimol. Only 10 – 20% of households in Tzimol are connected to the municipal sewage system. The rest use basic outhouses; often, sewage from households near the river ends up in the river system (directly or indirectly). Potential projects include conducting a feasibility study and relationship building with community members interested in having a composting toilet; working with Tsomanotik staff on an awareness campaign; and potentially building one to three composting toilets in identified households with community members.
*Projects are dependent on the results of work being carried out between September 2011 – April 2012. Which particular projects are assessed as feasible and priorities for the organization in Summer 2012 will be determined closer to the date of implementation.
Learning and working with Tsomanotik will include daily work in the agro-ecological centre and various agricultural activities on site. At Tsomanotik, you will exist in harmony with nature and learn how to promote social responsibility through alternative natural construction techniques, appropriate technology, and organic agriculture.
Living Environment
The project is located about 30 minutes from the town of Comitan in the Chiapas state of Mexico and a 10 – 15 minute walk from the village of Tzimol. Accommodation will be very basic shared rooms, dorm style (ie., bunkbeds) with shared washing facilities. During May – August, Tsomanotik also hosts other volunteers, including students participating in service-learning placements from universities in Mexico City and international volunteers. You will be part of project teams and an intentional community with up to 40 other volunteers (numbers of students and length of placements vary widely) and Tsomanotik staff who live on site. You will participate in cooking, cleaning and inter-culture sharing activities at Tsomanotik as part of the organization’s emphasis on community living. Time at Tsomanotik is very structured during the week with free time most weekends. There is very limited / no access to internet and cell phones on site.
Program Fee
Your $2,400 fee includes*:
- pre-departure learning sessions
- reflection materials
- room and board
- airport transportation to and from your placement
- orientation in Mexico, including some basic Spanish lessons
- tours to some of the highlights in the Chiapas region such as the Chiflon waterfalls and Sumidero Canyon
- in-Session Workshop
- community partner management fee
- Go Global project management fee
*Fees may be adjusted prior to offer. MECH 410 Course Registration Fee, Flights, Visas and vaccinations are not included in the program fee. A return ticket to Mexico City costs approximately $600–$900 and then you will take an additional domestic flight to Tuxtla Gutierrez. Financial awards may be available.
Program dates
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May to August 2012 placement |
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|---|---|---|---|
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Timeline |
Program Cost | Additional Comments | |
| Part A |
|
MECH 410 is a 6-credit course and tuition will be charged to your student account as all courses are. | Students must register in MECH 410E. You must apply for MECH 410P through the Go Global ISL application. Upon acceptance, you will be registered into the MECH 410P course. |
| Part B |
|
Program fees are indicated on the placement page. Tuition for the course is not part of the program cost and will be charged to your student account separately. | |
