Thank you for your interest in APSC 367/POLI 371 - Humanitarian Engineering: Politics and Practice!

 

This is an interdisciplinary course, offered only for the 3rd time in September 2025, that will have students from Engineering (any discipline), Political Science, and International Relations work together in teams to tackle real-world humanitarian challenges in collaboration with partnering NGOs. This presents a unique opportunity for cross-disciplinary collaboration and to explore your work and your field in a broader sociotechnical context while having a real impact, and will be co-taught by faculty members from Arts and from Applied Science.

 

Given the unique nature of the course, that much of the value of the course will come from active participation and collaboration in interdisciplinary teams, and the responsibility that comes with working with NGOs on real projects, registration requires you to submit a (short) personal statement to outline your interest in the course. This is simply to assess your interest and fit for the course and select those candidates that will get the most out of it, so that we can hit the ground running in September. Applications will be accepted until July 15th, 2025. All applicants will be notified of the results of their application, and officially registered in the course if successful shortly thereafter.

 

Please note that APSC 367 satisfies the "Impact of Engineering on Society, Sustainability and Environmental Stewardship" requirement for graduation in engineering for all programs except CIVL (unless special permission is granted from the program), and ENVL and ENVE, for which this counts as a technical elective. POLI 371 counts towards graduation for Political Science and International Relations.

 

For questions on the engineering side, please contact Dr. Tamara Etmannski (tamara.etmannski@ubc.ca).

 

For questions on the political science/international relations side, please contact Dr. Jenny Peterson (jenny.peterson@ubc.ca).