EWB-UIUC to host Fall Regional Conference

In the fall of 2011, the Engineers Without Borders (EWB) chapter at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will host the annual Great Lakes Regional Training Workshop to bring together students, academics and professionals for a weekend of technical training, collaboration and inspiration.

This year the UIUC chapter of EWB competed and won the right to run the annual fall conference, an opportunity for members of the 35 Great Lakes student chapters to meet their peers, and members of the 15 professional chapters in the region. As such, the conference consists of workshops that highlight the technical and leadership aspects of EWB.
 
Conference event highlights will include an “Around the World” themed Illinites, a project-based lunch designed to facilitate interaction between members involved with similar projects, and a final “Living EWB” banquet and awards ceremony. Additionally there are also hands on sessions on surveying, pouring concrete as well as on making bio-sand filters. Some of the speakers include the Illini Prosthetics Team, Father Stan Chu Ilo from the University of Toronto as well as Professor Madhu from the College of Business, UIUC. Overall, the conference goal is to promote the sharing of ideas between different communities, and to foster a better understanding of engineering in its global context

Conference attendees will have the benefit of increased inter-chapter interaction. This will facilitate the sharing of ideas and the building up of mutually beneficial partnerships between projects of similar region or project type. Student-professional liaisons are also a must: they create the networks crucial to eventual mentorship. In addition, students and professionals alike will benefit from the range of workshops which the conference will provide. The conference corporate networking event also provides a useful resource for projects seeking funding, or for students looking for potential internships.

Engineers Without Borders is an international nonprofit organization committed to advancing the quality of life in impoverished countries via socioeconomically and ecologically sustainable engineering projects. Students from all disciplines design and implement these projects. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign chapter is founded on the philosophy of helping developing countries while also holding local events to educate the masses about sustainable development. 

For more details and registration information, visit www.ewb-uiuc.org/greatlakes . Onsite registration is available in the Illini Union during November 4 and 5. For $30 you can have unlimited access to the EWB Conference workshops. 
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Contact: Amna Mahmud, EWB Conference Chair, ewb.uiuc.2011@gmail.com.

If you have any questions about the College of Engineering, or other story ideas, contact Rick Kubetz,, editor, Engineering Communications Office, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 217/244-7716.