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Each year Villanova students participate in a variety of service projects
and service trips.
The Mechanical Engineering Department has engaged in numerous international
multidisciplinary service projects to not only provide real-world learning
opportunities to our students but also lead the initiative to solve global
issues in poverty alleviation for communities in developing countries, including
Nicaragua, Panama, Honduras, Thailand, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and the Philippines.
The projects on which the students work, impact the lives of thousands of
people living without access to basic needs such as clean water and electricity.
In Nicaragua, we have worked with the Municipal Engineering Office
in Waslala and continued our support of Water for Waslala, a non-profit
organization, by providing technical services for the feasibility studies,
design, implementation, and evaluation of potable water systems in isolated
communities. On another project, a multidisciplinary group of ME, ECE, CEE,
and business students designed a 60 kW micro-hydro electrification system
for an isolated community of 80 households. This partnership approach has
also allowed our students to use their negotiation and project management
skills by leveraging fundraising activities with counterpart funding from
local and national government agencies in Nicaragua.
In Panama, we have renewed our relationship with Father Wally and his
Capuchin Mission. Teams of engineering students along with faculty
members and alumni assist Father Wally with multiple projects like the construction
of a reservoir or the design of a water distribution system. Currently a
Water Resources Master Plan for the area served by Fr. Wally is being developed
by a group of faculty, students, and alumni of the College of Engineering.
In the Philippines, engineering design teams have supported local innovators
to engineer their ideas into prototypes and working products in the Province
of Ifugao. This project has been funded by an NCIIA, Sustainable Vision
Grant and has partnered with a local non-government organization called
SITMo. This past summer, engineering and business students traveled
to Ifugao and conducted an innovation workshop where they identified two
projects with the potential to impact the lives of many people. One project
is the design and manufacturing of a 20 kW cross-flow hydraulic turbine,
which is currently being field-tested in a remote village. The other project
is the testing and redesign of a retort system currently being used to extract
essential oils from lemon grass. Although lemon grass grows very well in
the region, the transportation of raw products is very challenging due to
limited access to roads. Rural farmers in the area are currently able to
extract essential oils prior to distribution, which significantly increases
the market value and reduces the transportation cost.
There are numerous other local, national and international service learning
opportunities in which Villanova Mechanical Engineering students and faculty
participate.
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ME Service Opportunities
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