Bridging the praxis of hazards and development with resilience: A case study of an engineering education program

Abstract

Losses from hazard events disproportionately affect long-term development trajectories and activities of communities in the Global South. For this reason, researchers often discuss the growing intersections in hazards and development work. However, despite longstanding considerations of the interrelated nature of these fields, the integration of hazards and development in application and practice remains a challenge. This is particularly true as it relates to the organization of hazards- and development-related education and training programs. A growing number of ‘engineering-for-development’ or ‘humanitarian engineering’ programs aim to depart from the traditional disciplinary canon by providing interdisciplinary training in the engineering, development, and hazards fields. We studied one such program to explore how understandings and practices of hazards work are shaped in a development-focused engineering training program. Through in-depth interviews with program participants and observations of program events, we found that while students working in this area have a broad understanding of the linkages between hazards and development, they identify limitations to the integration of these fields in their educational training and experience in practice. Knowledge gained from students working at the boundaries of the hazards and development fields offers insight into the ongoing frictions of integrating work across these areas. Conceptualizations of ‘resilience’ offer individuals working at the boundaries of these fields an opportunity to make connections between hazards and development. We argue that an increased focus on connecting development and hazards work through resilience can serve as a useful tool to better train future cohorts of students working in hazards and development.