Board 97 : Sustainable Development Goals Meet “Third Mission”: The Engineers Without Borders Challenge in Germany

Abstract

The German university teaching system has been in a state of constant change since the Bologna reform.For some time now, it has also been shaped by concepts such as the Third Mission, the idea of understanding civil society engagement as a further mission of universities alongside research and teaching.In addition to that, key challenges of the 21st century such as globalization, climate change and lack of sustainability are coming to the focus.Their significance is also evident in the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).In order to sensitize students to the concept of civic engagement on the one hand and to spread knowledge among students about the SDGs on the other, innovative approaches are needed.One approach to address these challenges is the Engineers Without Borders (EWB) Challenge.Within the EWB Challenge, real-life problems related to development cooperation in developing countries are integrated into lectures and it is the students' task to find feasible solutions.The most promising solutions are then selected by EWB and implemented in the developing countries.This paper presents the current state of implementation of the EWB Challenge in Germany.A typical task of a completed EWB Challenge with the focus on efficient cooking and heating in rural areas in Africa is presented and an exemplary solution concept of one student group is provided.The example shows how the following goals can be achieved with the illustrated implementation: Interdisciplinary work, reflection on the use of technology in developing countries and the motivating combination of theoretical knowledge and practical relevance.The example also illustrates how civil society engagement can be brought to university.To analyze the effects of the EWB challenge on the participating students, a two-part evaluation (pre-and post-evaluation) has been conducted in the course of the Challenge's implementation at additional German universities.The focus of the evaluation lies on a comparison of the participants' assessments of their skills and abilities before and after their participation in the EWB Challenge.This work in progress paper explains the structure of this evaluation in detail.

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