Showing posts with label EWB. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EWB. Show all posts
Thursday, 7 April 2016
The Empathetic Engineer
When I tell people that I study philosophy alongside
engineering, I’m usually faced with remarks about what an odd combination it is
and then questions as to why I chose to do it. I usually have to decide if I’m
going to give them the short explanation or the real one. My short explanation is usually along the
lines of…philosophy is a subject that educates me about the world, and the
people in it, while teaching me how to reason and examine things in a logical
way. This explanation isn’t wrong, but it’s kind of boring and it doesn’t go
the whole way to explain the importance of philosophy, and the influence it has
had on me as an engineering student.
This post is going to act as my full explanation! I intend
to carry around pieces of paper with a link to this page for all those times
I’m asked why I do philosophy. I think it’ll save me a lot of time.
To begin with, what is philosophy?
Like in all philosophy, there isn’t a certain or correct
answer to this question. I apologise to all those engineers who like to know
the answers to everything, philosophy is definitely not for you! In saying
that, you might gain something by thinking about it.
I like to define it using one word: reasoning. You can
expand on this and say it’s the active questioning of ideas and things, the
attempt to understand the world around us, or the art of asking why over and
over again. I think these all mean similar things. You take an idea and reason
with it. You pull it apart, examine it from all angles, question the
fundamental assumptions or ideas surrounding it, try to explain it with logic,
defend or attack it, view it from a different perspective, all these things and
more.
Eventually you might have a clearer idea about it, a
realisation about the way it should be, or a new and unexpected outlook.
This is what my bookshelf looks like! A mix of ethics and engineering, with a hint of Spanish, Harry Potter and modern art.
I think these sorts of outcomes make philosophy an important
subject because it gets you thinking about something that is essential to any
project (or at least any project I want to be a part of): empathy.
When asked what the biggest challenge facing contemporary
society is, CNN reporter and philosopher Nahlah Ayed replied “the erosion of
empathy” (see the New Philosopher link at the end of the post).
There is a growing disconnect between groups of human beings
as global political issues change, technology becomes more influential, and the
disparity in wealth increases. It is easy to ignore many of the terrible things
that are happening to other people in the world (our own country included), but
it is important that we don’t.
Most of us are good at sympathising when we see images or
hear stories of terrible political situations, environmental crises or poverty
in the world, but we’re really bad at empathising. Empathy requires more understanding
than sympathy does.
Obviously, Philosophy doesn’t give you a super power that
allows you to understand every person on the planet, but it does provide you
with better tools to start the process of understanding, and also more
appreciation of that process. It makes you want to learn more about people and
their perspectives by thinking about topics like ethics, human rights,
happiness, utility and responsibility.
This empathy, or understanding, is something that should be
actively involved in every design process. I came across it in a humanitarian
engineering design process from the Engineers Without Borders (EWB) Australia
Design Summit in Cambodia this year. Empathising was actually included as a
step in the design process. During the summit, we stayed in a remote village
for 5 days with a family who had never had westerners there before. We asked
questions, got to know the locals, and did the work they do while we were
there.
The understanding we got from that was invaluable. It
allowed us to think of design ideas that were appropriate for them, and also
made us care about their wellbeing that bit more. A lot of design work in
developing countries has failed due to a lack of understanding. A great example
is the play pump in Africa (see the link at the end of this post). To see empathy included in EWB’s
design process is awesome!
This is the human-centred design process EWB provided us with.
Outside of the humanitarian engineering context, this can
apply in any situation. It’s all about connecting with people and using your
skills in a way that empowers them, and gives them something that they actually
want.
For me, exploring the importance of empathy has changed two
main things. First, my approach to design problems. I now ask more questions, I
question the fundamental assumptions provided to me, and I try to make a
connection with the user so I can better understand them. Second, it has
changed the sorts of projects I want to be involved with. I want to be involved
in projects where I can make those special connections with a cause or with a
group of people. I want to be able to satisfy that part of me that is thinking
about the ethics of everything.
The final thought I want to leave you with is about mindfulness.
In a way, I think that philosophy is mindfulness. It’s about being conscious of
everything, all ideas and all people, and trying to make sense of it all. I
think if everyone was a little more mindful, the world would have half as many
problems as it does now.
Emily
P.S. For those interested in exploring a little more, here is
some recommended reading!
New philosopher (#11 Technology): http://www.newphilosopher.com/articles/new-issue/
A blog post of mine from 2015 that explores how philosophy
gives engineering context. I look at a project I did on people with hearing
impairments: http://emilyengineer.blogspot.com/2015/05/social-engineering.html
Human centred design: https://eng.anu.edu.au/courses/engn2225/course-files/textbooks/IDEO_Field_Guide.pdf
Wednesday, 10 February 2016
Leaders as Enablers
Everyone has different theories of leadership, what it
means and what a leader should and should not do. I don’t think that any of
them are wrong and I don’t think there is any one right answer. There is,
however, one particular role of a leader that has stuck in my mind recently,
and that is the role of an enabler.
As this year’s President of the Engineering Students Association
(ESA), I have a team of 17 committee members to lead. At first I felt pressure
to ensure that 2016 was the best year yet! I spent a long time trying to come
up with new ideas, what we could do differently and how I could make that
happen. Eventually I started spending time thinking about my 17 committee
members. I am their leader. What do I
have that they don’t? I’m not necessarily more enthusiastic than the other
committee members. I definitely do not have better ideas than them or more
relevant organisational skills. I don’t even have any more experience as an
engineering student than they do. All I can think of is that I have more
experience with the ESA, and by virtue of this more contacts around the university and possibly a little more time allocated to ESA tasks
in my week.
These don’t really sound like particularly exciting
things to have special knowledge about or expertise in, but they’re the things
that can help me to be an enabler. As soon as I started thinking this way I realised
that I don’t have to come up with exciting initiatives. That’s not my job! I’m
the one who gets to spend time with people making their ideas happen. At our
first meeting the committee spent over three hours throwing around ideas.
That’s a lot of ideas! And 99% of them weren’t mine. All I had to do was
provide some (admittedly delicious) food and drinks, some pens and paper, and
occasionally a bit of direction and advice based on my experience. It was an organic
and awesome way to start our year together. I felt like a good leader that day.
Here's some of us at our second committee meeting (by the lake) with the ESA dog, Frankie.
I am just finishing up as a CSIRO Vacation Scholar
this week. I have been here working on my own research project within the
Innovation Hub project that the CSIRO is working on (check it out here: http://www.csiro.au/en/Research/LWF/Areas/Resilient-cities-21C/Urban-challenges/Innovation-Hub). The project is all about providing tools and forums where better
collaboration can happen between innovators in the urban development planning
world. The CSIRO will facilitate innovation that will lead to us living in
better designed cities. It’s not necessarily the one doing the innovating this
time, but it’s the one giving other people the space and the tools to do so. So
in this sense, the CSIRO is a real enabler and therefore leader in the world of
innovation.
In February I am travelling to Cambodia to participate
in a summit by Engineers Without Borders. We get to spend time in small
communities learning from the locals and developing ideas together. We will
gain a glimpse into the life of a humanitarian engineer. I think humanitarian engineers
are another great example of leaders as enablers. They don’t enter communities
to enforce their own ideas on the locals or create temporary solutions. They
enter communities with the skills to develop ideas with the community and
create something with them that is sustainable and of which the local people
can have ownership.
I think this is a really healthy and helpful attitude
towards leadership. It puts the focus where it should be – on the team and
their ideas. Leaders do not necessarily have to be the smartest or the most
creative. Leaders do, however, have to cultivate an environment where ideas are
shared and developed freely, connect their team with opportunities to make
their ideas happen, and enable their team to shine!
I think this is something to keep in mind. Over the
next month I’m doing an online leadership course through edX and I expect my
ideas will keep on developing as I go. The more we think about it and examine
ourselves, the more we learn about our individual leadership styles. Knowing
your strengths is absolutely essential! I hope everyone reading this starts to
think about what their style is, and finds the process as useful as I have.
Emily
