Fifty Ohio State students will enjoy lower study abroad program costs thanks to a $50,000 Ohio State Energy Partners (OSEP) grant awarded to Patrick Sours, assistant professor of professional practice in the College of Engineering.
Sours, who is the faculty lead of the humanitarian engineering program, plans to use half the funds to make its study abroad experiences more affordable, while the remaining funds will contribute to developing educational materials and continuing the relationship with community partners in Honduras, Ghana, Guatemala and Tanzania.
“One of the biggest barriers for our students is cost, so this grant will make a significant difference in our efforts to make the humanitarian engineering program more affordable and broaden our engagement across campus,” said Sours, who holds a joint position in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering and the Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering.
First introduced as a minor in 2014, humanitarian engineering aims to educate students on the application of science and engineering to address complex societal challenges, such as access to clean water or food insecurity, with an emphasis on applied engineering and socio-cultural learning experiences. Sours accompanies students abroad each semester and works to develop high-impact learning experiences worldwide.
“When students work with our community partners and have these challenging experiences problem-solving in a different setting, they’re better communicators, better teammates and better prepared to navigate the workforce when they graduate,” he noted.
Since 2017, Ohio State and OSEP award $810,000 annually to advance university priorities and promote interdisciplinary and community collaboration.