Virtual International Innovative Program on Sustainable Engineering: Lessons Learned from a Successful U.S.-Perú Collaborative Effort

Carlos Martin Chang; Adeeba Abdul Raheem

Download Paper | Permalink

Conference: 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access
Location: Virtual Conference
Publication Date: July 26, 2021
Start Date: July 26, 2021
End Date: July 19, 2022
Conference Session: Cooperative and Experiential Education Division Technical Session 3
Tagged Division: Cooperative and Experiential Education
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 12
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--38020
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/38020
Download Count: 293

Paper Authors

biography

Carlos Martin Chang Florida International University

visit author page

Dr. Chang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Florida International University (FIU). He is recognized as an international expert on asset management, infrastructure management, knowledge management, pavement management, pavement evaluation and design. His research work involves the development of advanced decision-making models and tools for multi-decision criteria, statistical analysis, simulation processes, optimization techniques, and risk analysis at the strategic and network management level. Among his research sponsors are the National Highway Cooperative Research Program (NCHRP), Metropolitan Transportation Commission in California (MTC), the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), the El Paso Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), and the City of El Paso. His academic work is documented in more than 100 publications in peer- reviewed national and international journals, conference proceedings, books, and technical reports. Dr. Chang also serves as the Chair of the ASCE Infrastructure Systems Committee, and Vice President of isMARTI in the U. S Research Coordinator of the TRB Pavement Management Systems Committee (AFD10).

visit author page

biography

Adeeba Abdul Raheem University of Texas at El Paso orcid.org/0000-0002-2226-5582

visit author page

Dr. Raheem has received her Ph.D. in Construction Management from the University of Florida (UF) in 2014. She holds multiple master’s degrees in Building Construction, Environmental Engineering, and Civil Engineering from UF. She is serving as an Assistant Professor and Director of the Construction Safety Program at the University of Texas, El Paso. Dr. Raheem is an invited member of the President’s Advisory Committee on Sustainability at UTEP. She has been working with various professional organizations as a merit reviewer such as the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF), DOE-NE's Consolidated Innovative Nuclear Research- Construction Group, and Oak Ridge Institute of Science and Education (managed by Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) for DOE). Dr. Raheem has a research portfolio of more than $2 million with projects funded by various U.S. federal agencies and non-profit organizations such as the U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of State, U.S. National Science Foundation and VentureWell. Her research interests include sustainable cities, construction safety, construction management, and sustainable construction. She is an Envision™ Sustainability Professional (ENV SP), a certified associate member of the Design-Build Institute of America (Assoc. DBIA™), and OSHA certified Master Trainer.

visit author page

Download Paper | Permalink

Abstract

Virtual International Innovative Program on Sustainable Engineering: Lessons learned from a Successful U.S.-Perú Collaborative Effort Being challenged by a worldwide situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic affecting all levels of activities, innovative solutions and interventions are needed to meet the new challenges. As a response to continuing our efforts for providing global experiences to our students, a US-Peru collaborative effort using virtual platforms was conducted in Summer 2020 to deliver a Sustainable Engineering and Leadership Practices program (SELP). This engineering program covered principles and practices related to sustainability topics and followed a problem-based approach to address societal needs for the development and preservation of livable communities. The course content focused on environmental, social, economic, and management challenges and the need for leadership skills to implement global sustainability principles into engineering solutions. Emphasis was placed on the importance to communicate short, medium, and long-term consequences of engineering solutions to decision-makers and society. Practical examples were developed during the course to illustrate the concepts learned in the sessions. With the participation of thirty students in a virtual environment, the students developed projects related to sustainability problems in their own communities. The SELP program has been delivered in a face-to-face format in previous years and includes three main areas: technical, cultural, and social activities. This paper summarizes the lessons learned and what led to a successful well-rounded global experience in all the program dimensions.

Citation
Format

Chang, C. M., & Raheem, A. A. (2021, July), Virtual International Innovative Program on Sustainable Engineering: Lessons Learned from a Successful U.S.-Perú Collaborative Effort Paper presented at 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual Conference. 10.18260/1-2--38020