ASME, the international engineering profession’s cooperative, educational and training, research, outreach and codes and standards development organisation (originally the American Society for Mechanical Engineers, founded in 1880), is seeking to improve the quality of life for people in developing countries by using engineering knowledge and skills. It is doing so through an initiative called Engineering For Change (E4C). Started by ASME together with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and Engineers Without Borders-USA. E4C is also underpinned by leadership sponsors (the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Society of Women Engineers), foundations and professional networks.

E4C is basically an engineering information and education platform, which links people seeking solutions to proven technical knowledge, on-the-ground practitioners, thought leaders and learning opportunities – all at no cost to the user. “This platform is free – free to join, free to use,” explains ASME President Madiha Kotb. “It now has more than 16 000 members. It is part of what we call Engineering for Global Development, which is bigger than E4C. We believe we must make the world better.”

“When you talk about standards, it’s normally at government level,” notes ASME global alliance MD Michael Michaud. “But local communities need power, for example. And that needs engineering. E4C is a platform for people all over the world to find engineering solutions to the problems of local communities. So we’re bringing engineering rigour into these activities.”

In addition to engineers, E4C embraces technologists and social scientists. It works with nongovernmental organisations, community leaders and local governments. On its website, the forum defines its mission as “to improve the quality of life in communities around the world by facilitating the development of affordable, locally appropriate and sustainable solutions to the most pressing humanitarian challenges”.

E4C currently has seven main areas of interest: agriculture, energy, health, information systems, sanitation, structures and water. Although the organisation gives attention to many specific problems and issues, it is possible to list, in very general terms, its overarching goals. It seeks to make farming more efficient, promote access to affordable electricity (or alternative energy) for people who have none, help ensure that healthcare reaches those who need it (in other words, improve health logistics and infrastructure), bridge the digital divide (give the poor access to information), promote simple but effective sanitation systems, improve the quality of housing, using local resources, and help develop simple and affordable means to provide safe drinking water.

As an example of a specific challenge, E4C members were recently asked if they could come up with ideas for a cycloneproof roofing system for homes and other buildings in the Philippines. Although there are many concrete buildings on the islands that can withstand these storms, they often lose their roofs. A family that loses the roof of its house is homeless; a clinic without a roof is unusable. Any proposed system should make use of the two materials that are commonly available in that country: bamboo and concrete.

The forum helps to address the problem of inadequate numbers of engineers around the world. “We need more engineers,” affirms Michaud. “US research shows that kids need to know that engineers do things, make a difference and solve things. We need to ensure that the next generation of engineers is properly trained to let the public know what we’re doing.” Kotb agrees: “It’s not known enough what engi- neers do and what impact engineers have on people.”

ASME also believes that, worldwide, the issue of standards should be introduced into engineering education and training courses at universities and in companies. Currently, Kotb notes, this is “one of the things lacking”.