HeidelbergCement and Engineers Without Borders Sweden (EWB-SWE) have initiated a collaboration

HeidelbergCement Sweden and Engineers Without Borders Sweden have initiated a collaboration to create a better life for people in exposed communities through the development of infrastructure.

The partnership will lead to the development of more robust sustainable infrastructure in vulnerable areas with an emphasis on efficient resource use and increased use of technology for building sustainable communities.

The fact that HeidelbergCement engages its employees in these assignments during working hours means that EWB-SWE receives increased resources to be able to carry out projects within the international project operations and to increase interest in the engineering profession.

Employees at HeidelbergCement and the subsidiaries in Sweden will contribute with knowledge and commitment to the international project activities, at the same time as, through dialogue with students, they promote interest in building and construction with a focus on sustainable community building.

Every year, EWB-SWE carries out several projects around the world that contribute to a better everyday life for people. EWB-SWE's projects are rooted in local needs and promote sustainable technology. Close collaboration with business partners is vital to be able to implement these projects.

As one of the world's largest suppliers of building materials and with over 1,500 employees in Sweden, HeidelbergCement, including its subsidiaries, has extensive knowledge in community building and production of building materials.

A collaboration with EWB-SWE, therefore, fits well with HeidelbergCement's vision of building a long-term sustainable society. General Manager of HeidelbergCement Northern Europe, Giv Brantenberg, looks forward to the collaboration and says the following:

"We will help build robust societies in many parts of the world, where good resource use and sustainable solutions with little climate impact will be important factors. I am confident that HeidelbergCement's broad expertise in building materials and EWB-SWE's knowledge of marginalized areas together will lead to good projects in countries that need it."

Chairman of Engineers without Borders, Jan Byfors, welcomes HeidelbergCement on board.

"A collaboration with a large and solid player such as HeidelbergCement is essential to us and will contribute to our work and our continued development as an organization," says Jan Byfors.

HeidelbergCement is a global market leader in ballast and a prominent player in the manufacture of cement, concrete and other building materials. The company has approximately 55,000 employees in more than 50 countries. Read more about our sustainability work here https://www.heidelbergcement.se/sv/hallbarhet

Engineers Without Borders Sweden is a non-governmental organization working on challenges linked to UN development goals. With technical expertise from industry and academia, it is active both in Sweden and internationally to solve technical and humanitarian challenges related to inequality and global development.

If you have any questions, please contact:

Joshua Prentice
Sustainability Manager - HeidelbergCement Sweden
joshua.prentice@heidelbergcement.com

Noemie Gonzalez
Responsible corporate collaboration - Engineers without borders
noemie.gonzalez@ewb-swe.org

EWB-SWE's half year review

We are already halfway through 2020 and EWB-SWE has been quite active!

Here comes a review of what we have been up to until June 2020. As an effect of the current pandemic situation, most of our activities have been reshaped, conceived through digital channels and/or re-prioritized within Sweden and internationally. We are proud of our accomplishments and will strive to keep increasing our impact and our work towards engineering for humanity in the months to come.

Join us! There are many ways to get involved and contribute

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Online guidance café: How to prepare yourself to find a job.

Are you a newly arrived engineer in Sweden?
In these challenging times, it can be hard to find a job and navigate through the Swedish job market. 
Engineers Without Borders Sweden is happy to invite you to the online guidance café: How to prepare yourself to find a job.

Where: google meet (https://meet.google.com/wce-ojxb-rie)
When: 13th of August 18:30

We will discuss topics such as Applying for a job and Where to apply, Mentorship Programmes and Online Education.

The event is organised by EWB-SWEs initiative Engineer to Engineer (E2E) that aims to create a labour market with equal opportunities for everyone. 

The speakers are volunteers from E2E who will share their experiences. The event is intended for newly arrived in Sweden and people who need advice when looking for a job. The event is open to anyone! 

On the agenda: 

- Online Education: By Malin

- Short-term learning By Arianda

- Validate your educational diploma: By Landing

- Long-term learning and Student-Guide By Landing

- Applying for a job and Where to apply By Sheeba

- Mentorship Programmes: By Arianda and Vanesa

- CV and cover letter templates  

- Q&A  

EWB-SWE has received additional funds from H M Queen Silvia’s foundation - Care About the Children for three water tanks

Together with H M Queen Silvia’s Foundation - Care About the Children and our partner organization in Tanzania, Mavuno Project, EWB-SWE has completed the construction of two water tanks at two different primary-schools in Tanzania.

Rainwater from the roof of the schools is collected during the rainy season. The water is stored in the 90m3 tanks that will be used during the rest of the year. The tanks support 1330 students and teachers with drinking water and water to culture and cleaning.

We are now happy to announce that EWB-SWE has received additional funds from H M Queen Silvia’s foundation to construct another three tanks in three new schools. 

Welcome to EWB-SWE webinar - Networking Online: Adapting To A Virtual World

Carina Löfström, with UU careers will share, in detail, how to communicate and make connections through LinkedIn, different methods of networking, and how to build and maintain a professional relationship online.

There will be a Q&A following the presentation. Come prepared with questions as this will be a great opportunity to get answers, and possibly make some new connections!

We'll see you there!

EWB-SWE's initiative Engineer to Engineer holds this event.

Bengt Dahlgren contributes with specialist competence in a water supply system that is being expanded in Chonyonyo, Tanzania.

Bengt Dahlgren is not only EWB-SWE's gold sponsor, but they also share their competence and human resources to support our activities.

Since April, three engineers from Bengt Dahlgren are working on an EWB-SWE water supply project in Chonyonyo, Tanzania. The goal is to get the water from Chonyonyo to a health station in Rukole, which is urgently needed to expand into a hospital.

"...We consult in every thinkable purchasing inquiries, from material selection to logistical challenges. With the ambition to get this in place as soon as possible, we are discussing a pipeline that, with the help of gravity, drives the water supply without affecting other water system infrastructure" says Hamse Hassan, sprinkler and energy engineer at Bengt Dahlgren

"We appreciate our long-term cooperation with EWB-SWE and that we can contribute with our specialist competences in various projects. It gives great value for us as a company and for our employees." Agneta Lundén-Hjält, HR manager at Bengt Dahlgren AB

Webinar on how to find your ideal workplace during the Covid-19 crisis

In these challenging times, it can be hard to find a job and navigate through the Swedish job market.

EWB-SWE is hosting a webinar 27th of May at 18:00-19:00 for newly arrived engineers. You will be introduced to a new platform that helps you find an engineering workplace that shares your work values and is meaningful for you. You will also get the unique chance to participate in a Q&A with Carwan Rasaol, CEO of Airjobb.

We can't wait to see you there! Register to attend here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/finding-your-ideal-workplace-online-seminar-tickets-105536035122?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch

EWB-SWE's initiative Engineer to Engineer holds this event.

Read more about Engineer to Engineer here

Join EWB-SWE's digitalisation focus group

Engineers Without Borders Sweden (EWB) has worked with digitalisation since 2016, and a total of three international projects have been carried out. As of May 2020, there are two active projects, one for Tanzania and one for Kenya.

All current and earlier digitalisation projects have been working on the same foundation of hardware and software. A server running PiServer, and Raspberry Pi clients running Raspbian. Together they make a computer lab where both teachers and students can study the technology and become computer literate. Student can also use the labs for studying the school curriculum, as the project supplies the necessary software.

To benefit from scaling effects, EWB has decided to set up a framework for CFS-projects. Partly in terms of hardware and software, but also in terms of long-term maintenance, teacher training material, and last but not least: computer literacy tests.

The task of building this framework falls upon the digitalisation focus group. We are looking for people who want to join the focus group to help develop and build this framework. We are looking to fill three general role groups; software, hardware, and education/sustainability, all roles can expect to put in between 2-4 hours a week.

 • Software: You are interested in software, coding, and finding solutions to unusual problems. You are comfortable with git, Linux, and getting familiar with source code. All the software we use right now is open source, though this is subject to change if deemed necessary. We want you to look at how to make our software solution better, more stable, and easier to use.

 • Hardware: You are interested in electronics, networking, and power solutions. You are familiar with Linux, and perhaps you have been working with Raspberry Pi's before. We want you to evaluate the current hardware solution and compare it to other possible solutions. The evaluation should balance power efficiency, cost, and durability.

 • Education and sustainability: You are interested in teaching, technology, and the combination of the two. Maybe you have worked as a teacher, or perhaps you have worked as an extra teacher on the side (homework help, mentoring, lab extra on university course). We want you to keep developing our computer literacy tests and the methods we can use to evaluate the effect of our projects. We also want you to look at the teacher training material, as well as the teaching material that the teachers can use when teaching their subjects to the students.

If this sounds interesting, please get in contact with Christian Naccache by email: digitalisation@ewb-swe.org

Engineers Without Borders Annual Report 2019.

We are excited to share Engineers Without Borders Annual Report 2019.

In 2019 we focused mainly on improving our quality and long-term effect in both our international development cooperation and our national projects.

We wish to thank all our members and collaboration partners for your contributions towards the fulfilment of our mission to through humanitarian engineering engage, inspire and unite people to build a sustainable future

Support EWB-SWE's Covid-19 Response in International Projects

As an effect of the current pandemic situation, we extend and rephrase some of our plans to help our partner organisations to limit the spreading and the impacts of Covid-19.

Right now, we are having top-focus on two initiatives:
We are extending our contribution just slightly in an extensive project aiming to improve the water and sanitation situation in primary schools in north-western Tanzania to reduce the spreading of Covid-19 when the schools open again after the current closing. By providing more water buckets and soap to the schools, we facilitate more frequent and adequate hand-washing, which is essential to reduce the spreading of the disease. (FYI: one bucket is about 85 SEK, a box of soap 130 SEK, and the full package for a school would be around 1000 SEK. We need 15 000 SEK in total.)

Please support our Covid-19 Response in International Projects 

We are re-planning the further extension of a water pipeline stretching between three villages in Tanzania constructed in 2017. The Covid-19 related change includes water supply to a small health station now being transformed into a hospital for Covid-19 patients. We collaborate with the local government to fund the extension, and with our local partner organisation and the local government to complete it. (FYI: The total cost is estimated to 160 000 SEK, and EWB-SWE will cover 70 000 SEK of that.)

Please support the further extension of this project (mark your donation as project 2018.026)

Join us in the pursuit of overcoming the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic

Backed by the Swedish Government, EWB-SWE's initiative openhack has joined forces with Hack for Sweden to ship the online hackathon Hack the Crisis Sweden 3-6 of April. The mission is to design, test and execute ideas for the future of Sweden and the world. We want to gather creative ideas and test solutions in an attempt to make further progress in the ongoing resistance. 

Public sector, private sector, academia, non-profit organizations and citizens are all welcome to contribute.

Sign up at www.hackthecrisis.se to contribute to digital solutions which can help all who are now working hard to alleviate, or are affected by, the crisis. Solutions can range from critical resources to support the people isolated.

Are you looking to support a high impact project or CSR initiative?

EWB-SWE is working with Build up Nepal to empower marginalized communities and micro-entrepreneurs to build safe, sustainable homes across Nepal.

Build up Nepal is now looking for new partners - NGOs, companies, engineers and others - who want to support them to make a ground-level impact in marginalized villages, empower women and mitigate climate change. For more information contact: info@buildupnepal.com

Learn more https://lnkd.in/fQTYhmu

H.M. Queen Silvia's Foundation - Care About the Children, is funding EWB-SWE's project Water in Karagwe Schools.

H.M. Queen Silvia's Foundation - Care About the Children, is funding EWB-SWE's project Water in Karagwe Schools.

With support from the foundation, we can now construct rainwater tanks at five schools in Karagwe. The tanks collect the rainwater that falls on the school's roof during the two rainy seasons of the year and stores it to use during the dry months. Through this project, we will ensure that there is drinking water for the students, water for watering of schools' cultivations, water for cooking lunch and water for cleaning.

Together with EWB-SWE's partner organization Mavuno Project and the local authorities in the Karagwe district, Tanzania, we work on a broad range to improve the education situation in the area. We work to develop the prerequisites for learning at 131 state elementary schools by improving access to water and toilets, and in later stages by expanding the schools and introducing computers. We also contribute to the expansion of Mavuno's own high-performing high school for girls, so that more young people will have the opportunity to study at a high level. We are opening doors to higher education while working to give the district's marginalized schoolchildren a chance to reach those opportunities.

Construction of water tanks

Collection of water before the water tank installation

Are you our next Corporate Partnership Coordinator?

Become our Corporate Partnership Coordinator! You will be employed as part of our office, with responsibility to coordinate and develop our collaboration with existing and potential partner companies.

The interest in Engineers Without Borders Sweden (EWB-SWE) among companies in Sweden has been steadily growing for the last years. EWB-SWE offers a possibility to give back to the world in a way close to the core activities of many of those companies. We also offer a way to meet potential employees through our networks of students and immigrating engineers. Increasingly, we see that companies wish to actively involve their employees in their CSR-work. The management of these companies have realized that the ability to offer employees a platform from where they can engage for a better world, address the Sustainable Development Goals, and work to reduce poverty attracts and motivates people, and make them proud of their employee. Our partner companies offer us funding, valuable competence in our projects and activities, and possibilities to arrange common events reaching out to potential EWB-SWE members.

 We are now looking forward to extend our office with a person responsible to lead, coordinate and develop our collaboration with existing and potential partner companies. This involves both long-term strategic planning and the day-to-day execution of activities and communications in collaboration with partner companies, as well as development of internal processes and our offer to potential and existing partners.

You will work in close cooperation with our Secretary General, Communications Manager and Board, as well as with our local groups spread across Sweden. Important tasks will be to act as the main contact person for people at EWB-SWE as well as from our partner companies in any matter concerning the collaboration, and to support members of EWB-SWE to fulfill our partnership agreements. You will also support our representatives when approaching new potential partner companies, both in person and by developing suitable routines and tools. You will be well involved with the whole organization, in order to identify projects, activities and tasks suitable for different companies to support both economically and with competence. We are looking for a communicative team player who is able to work independently and strategically, who shares the values of EWB-SWE and who is interested in developing our organization further.

The role as our Corporate Partnership Coordinator is a full-time or nearly full-time employment. About 10% of your time will be dedicated to our main partner, Sandvik. Location is flexible, though our Secretary General is based in Falun and possibilities to meet physically on a regular basis would be an advantage. We believe that you have some experience from work with similar tasks, especially from the non-profit sector. The salary is according to agreement, and starting time is flexible. 

You can read more about Engineers Without Borders Sweden on www.ewb-swe.org. Questions related to the position are answered by Caroline Bastholm (caroline.bastholm@ewb-swe.org, 070-231 96 02) or Jan Byfors (jan.byfors@ ewb-swe.org, 070-575 64 37)

 If you are interested, please apply before November 25. 

Engineers Without Borders Sweden is promoting equality and inclusivity. We are strengthened by our differences. We encourage all qualified candidates to apply for the position, regardless of gender, age, ethnic background, religion, disability or sexual orientation.

Engineer to Engineer hosted a CV event

Last week Engineer to Engineer hosted a CV event. The event was held together with Madelene from UU career and offered concrete tips on how to optimize a CV and cover letter.

Engineer to Engineer is a project that aims to create a labor market with equal opportunities for everyone. It creates a platform that enables newly arrived professionals to network and gain the necessary tools to enter the Swedish labor market.

Do you and your company want to make a noticeable difference for asylum seekers and newly arrived academics?

Do you and your company want to make a noticeable difference for asylum seekers and newly arrived academics? On November 28, Engineers Without Borders Sweden will host a recruitment afternoon where your company will be able to find competent people with unique approaches and knowledge. This year we are also expanding our target group to academics in all fields. See the appendix for more information and a registration link: https://bit.ly/2owNcHo

Experienced project managers wanted as program leaders for activities in Tanzania

Engineers Without Borders Sweden (EWB-SWE) is working in partnership with a well-established organisation in Tanzania, Mavuno Project. After ten years of collaboration, we have common projects in several thematic areas such as water access, water purification, construction, sanitation, electrification, digitalisation in education, entrepreneurship etc. We are now looking for experienced project managers who can act as program leaders for different parts of our common work.

What shall be done?

At this point, EWB-SWE and Mavuno Project have approximately 10 common projects and initiatives ongoing in different phases. Though it is a strength to have many teams and people working on different aspects of one specific context, it is also a challenge to make sure that these groups benefit from and inspire each other. As a way of improving our work, we wish to group our projects and initiatives into 2-3 major projects/programs. The existing projects will act as sub-projects or activities within these, and the division will be based mainly on location of implementation. We are now searching for managers for the following programs:

Development of primary schools in Karagwe: Together with Mavuno, local authorities and local communities, we are working long-term and systematically to improve the conditions in Karagwe's 130 governmental primary schools. We focus on water supply, water purification, construction of toilets, and digitalisation of the school environment. The role as a program manager includes identification of sub-projects, support to and coordination of sub-project groups, dialogue with the Tanzanian authorities and Mavuno on priorities, division of work, division of responsibilities, etc.

Development of the Mavuno secondary school: Mavuno project is running a girls-only secondary school (school year 8-13) which acts as a role model in the area. The students are performing really well in regional rankings, and the school enrols ambitious girls that would otherwise have difficulties to reach higher education. The school is under development, and EWB-SWE is involved in the construction process including infrastructure for water, sanitation, electricity etc. The school is also a place where technology can be tested and evaluated before being spread to other places. The role as a program manager includes identification of sub-projects and additional areas in which our support would benefit the school's development, support to and coordination of sub-project groups, dialogue with Mavuno on priorities, division of work, division of responsibilities, etc.

Who are we looking for?

We are looking leaders of these larger projects/programs. You have experience in leading teams and projects, and you have a genuine interest in using your professional skills to support others in their personal development including students in Tanzania, junior project managers in EWB-SWE, technical professionals in Sweden and Tanzania etc. You regard your involvement in EWB-SWE as a long-term engagement stretching over some years, and you have a life situation allowing you to set aside a few hours every week to this voluntary work. You are interested in travelling to Tanzania to meet our project partner, though the majority of your work will be carried out from home.

If you have any additional questions about the work, please don’t hesitate to contact Caroline Bastholm: caroline.bastholm@ewb-swe.org. We review applications continuously.

Engineers Without Borders Sweden is promoting equality and inclusivity. We are strengthened by our differences. We encourage all qualified candidates to apply for the position, regardless of gender, age, ethnic background, religion, disability or sexual orientation.

Internship assignment

Internship assignment

To create a long-term impact that both is efficient and achieves the predefined goals, we are constantly evaluating our work. At every stage of every project, we strive to open-mindedly investigate how the work contributes to meet the local needs and how our work can be improved. As the organization is growing, the necessity of structurally comparing the impacts of our different projects is increasing. For this task we need you.

During this internship, you will lay the groundwork for EWB’s work with Results Based Management (RBM) and Key Performance Indexes (KPIs). The role gives you the freedom to identify what and how we can measure our projects’ impact without increasing the level of unnecessary bureaucracy. You will be in regular contact with the staff, the board and the different project leaders to holistically approach the task.

You will gather statistics from our completed development projects, interview project members and, together with the parties concerned, develop a framework for continuously measure and evaluate EWB’s work. Furthermore, you will take part developing an implementation plan for the framework.

Qualifications

You are a student at the end of your studies. Your field of studies may include international development, governance or economics, but we welcome students from other fields as well! Most important is your interest in working with RBM and KPIs.

Additionally, we wish you to:

• Have some prior knowledge of RBM, KPIs or similar result systems

• Show genuine interest in EWB’s work and share our values

• Be a good communicator willing to include all parts of the organization in your work

• Feel comfortable to work with lots of freedom and own responsibility

• Be able to work and write in English

Merit skills/experience

Although academic background can be very relevant, most important for us is that you are genuinely interested in the specified task.

Other

The office is based in Falun, Sweden, though there is great flexibility to work from elsewhere and pay regular visits to the office.

Read more and apply here:
https://fuf.se/engineers-without-borders/

Deadline for the application: October 1

The installation of the water purification system at Rukole Primary School in Tanzania is completed!

A new and improved water purification system will give greater access to clean water. Hopefully, the number of children staying home from school due to waterborne diseases will decrease.

Engineers Without Borders would like to thank volunteers Anton and Olivia, and everyone at Rukole. During the project, students and teachers at Rukole have learned about the system. Specifically about how different components of the system work, what maintenance is required, and how to troubleshoot and fix problems that may arise.

Read more about the project here

Member Meeting 2019

Save the date!
We at Engineers Without Borders want to invite all of our members to the 2019 national member meeting.This year’s member meeting will take place in Linköping on November 23-24.