Engaged Engineering at Cornell

In collaboration with the David M. Einhorn Center for Community Engagement, Duffield Engineering aims to ensure that every undergraduate student participates in high-quality, community-engaged learning experiences, providing all students the opportunity to apply their technical skills to real-world community challenges.

Engaged Engineering Grants

Female student showing work on a laptop to a group of people with a presentation in the background

Upcoming Faculty Workshop

The McCormick Teaching Excellence Institute will be hosting a workshop for Cornell faculty on Engaged Engineering on March 18 at 3 p.m. in Tang 499. Interested faculty should RSVP or request more information.

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Defining Engaged Engineering

Engaged Engineering happens on a range of scales, from hyper-local to global, with a variety of collaborators, including nonprofit organizations and industry partners. Projects and programs can look very different, but they all share four important criteria.

  1. Real-world challenges

    Engaged Engineering addresses real-world challenges or opportunities valued by community partners, including place-based, interest-based, non-profit, government, and industry.

  2. Supported by a grant from the Einhorn Center for Community Engagement, Enfield Food Distribution is partnering with Cornell experts to create a resource hub for growing community needs.

    Community partnership

    Engaged Engineering includes working with and/or learning from a community partner, whether on campus or outside the university, through in-person or virtual engagement.

  3. Students gather around a work table

    Educational content

    Engaged Engineering experiences are connected and integrated with educational content.

  4. SoNIC students work on building a robotic prototype in Upson Hall.

    Critical Reflection

    Engaged Engineering includes structured, documented critical reflection that addresses both technical and social aspects of the engagement.

Engaged Engineering in Practice

There are already numerous and varied opportunities for students to participate in Engaged Engineering, and more are being developed every day.

  • Courses

    Many courses provide opportunities to apply technical training to real challenges faced by communities, companies, and other external stakeholders. Check to see if your course has an “Engaged Engineering” tag.

  • Student Project Teams

    Several of our Student Project Teams are centered around social impact and community engagement. They are highly visible practitioners of Engaged Engineering.

  • Undergraduate Research

    Duffield Engineering students can work alongside professional researchers to make new discoveries that benefit communities and to apply their research in service of others. Our Undergraduate Research team can help students find labs doing work aligned with Engaged Engineering.

  • Internships

    Internships and similar programs enable students to engage in and reflect on real-world experiences, improving their readiness to make an impact and succeed beyond the classroom.

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Contact

Cynthia R. Pakkala
Rhodes Hall, Room 171
607-255-8240
crp5@cornell.edu