VEIC Exchange

This program is now completed.

In the summer of 2021, Engineering World Health is offering a free virtual design program that brings together students from the United States, Lebanon, and Jordan. The course focuses on low-resource design and engineering for healthcare in an international setting. Participants will work together in international teams.

The program is supported by the Stevens Initiative, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. Government, and is administered by the Aspen Institute. The Stevens Initiative is also supported by the Bezos Family Foundation and the governments of Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.

Students from Lebanon, Jordan, and the U.S. have the opportunity to work and learn together remotely throughout this course. Materials are curated by our team at EWH and our program partners. The course covers concepts for biomedical design, collaboration, ethics, and entrepreneurship as these topics relate to engineering for low-resource environments. Students will work independently through self-directed learning modules as well as collaborate virtually in groups to further develop design ideas and exchange knowledge. While the coursework is in English, both Arabic and English speakers are welcome, as we will have diverse teams able to facilitate various levels of translation. Teams are led by program mentors from Lebanon, Jordan, or the U.S. with significant engineering background and experience in low-resource hospitals to help them throughout this process.

There are two tracks: Capstone for university students, and Curiosity for high school students.

Capstone Track:

Criteria: Participants must be students or recent graduates of a university in the United States, Middle East, or North Africa, between the ages of 18-29 years old.

Dates: The course runs on a six week timeline.

Section 1: June 7 - July 16

Commitment: 6 hours/week, meet twice a week with your team and work independently 2-4 hours. Please be aware that meeting times need to accommodate varying time zones (7-9 hour differences). 

Sign Ups are Currently Closed.

Curiosity Track:

Criteria: Participants must be high school students or equivalent in the United States, Middle East, or North Africa, between the ages of 14-18 years old.

Dates: The course runs on a four week timeline. Students have the option to choose from the two sections below:

Section 1: July 5 - July 30

Section 2: August 2 - August 27

Commitment: 6 hours/week, meet three times a week with your team and work independently 1-3 hours. Please be aware that meeting times need to accommodate varying time zones (7-9 hour differences).

Sign Up Here.

At the end of the course, students will receive a certificate of completion. On request, EWH will gladly provide summary materials to present to your home university in support of any independent study credit you may seek.