Tufts undergraduates engage in successful engineering design experience abroad
Seven Tufts students put their engineering knowledge into action this summer as they traveled to Cartagena, Colombia to collaborate with community members on local design improvements. Through Tufts Global Education's Global Design in Cartagena, Colombia program, students spent 10 days collaborating with community members to co-design solutions at the Playa Blanca beach. Now in its second year, the program builds on the success of its first year to further improve systems in the community.
The work began long before the group arrived in Colombia. During the spring semester, the group participated in a Special Topics course at Tufts, where they studied the engineering design process, and met regularly with community partners. Taught by Assistant Professor Trevion Henderson of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the course emphasized methods for engaging in community-based partnerships and offered students opportunities to co-ideate and co-design solutions in collaboration with community partners. “While the course and projects were meant to be authentic learning experiences, the setting was also a research environment in which the instructional team worked hard not to impose ideas or make decisions for the students or community members. For that reason, the course and projects were truly student- and community-led,” said Henderson.
Working in tandem with community members
Working closely with the community is a core component of the program. The projects emerge from listening to local residents describe their needs and ideas for improvement. Throughout the design process, the team blended engineering knowledge from the Tufts students with expertise from the locals to create useful solutions for the people who encounter the systems every day. "We were impressed with how dedicated the students were to creating designs that made everyday work at the beach more efficient and allowed more people to easily access the beach. By the second day, the students were designing and building alongside locals, combining ideas and expertise. It was great to see everyone work as a team," said Henderson.
The students brought their unique engineering expertise to the project, and the local community members brought their critical knowledge of the area, such as what materials would be realistic and accessible to use. Through this equal exchange, the Tufts students gained valuable knowledge about engineering in the real world. “The community members and my fellow students taught me that engineering cannot be done in isolation— design should always be collaborative,” reflected Delaney McLynch, E27.
Since the program visits the same location each year, students are able to build upon the previous cohort’s work. In the first year of the program, a Tufts group installed a pulley system for workers who clear trash on the beach to haul it up the cliff to the dumpster more easily. This year, Max Antonini, E26, Katherine Kostak, E26, Sammie Lu, A26, and Delaney McLynch, E27, continued to work on the pulley system.
Responding to the workers’ feedback about the current setup, the students devised and installed an automated pulley system. Antonini, a computer engineering undergraduate, installed solar panels on a nearby structure to power the updated system. The structure was thoughtfully designed to maximize solar energy while simultaneously providing shade for workers to get out of the sun. As Antonini shared his knowledge about solar panels, the workers advised him on local materials to use, resulting in a powerful exchange.
The group also implemented a manual backup so that the system can operate effectively in the event of poor weather conditions or other disruptions. Future Global Design in Cartagena, Colombia groups will continue to iterate and improve upon the pulley system, as well as identify other community-led projects, to ensure that it remains useful for the workers in the long term.
An impactful experience for all
The students communicated with their collaborators in Colombia prior to their visit, but the project took on a whole new meaning for Sonia Broni, E27, when she landed there. “Suddenly the design problem isn’t theoretical. You realize you’re not working on a model or a case study. You’re working alongside real people, with real emotions, and real stakeholders in real time,” she shared. Broni, Brett Cavanaugh, E27, and Peter Llamas, E28, focused their efforts on the entrance path to Playa Blanca. Pedestrians and motorcyclists alike use the same steep, rocky, path to get onto the beach. At the side of the entrance was an equally steep and rocky staircase, split down the middle with a railing. As Broni watched people struggling to use the current beach entrance, she recalled feeling motivated to help improve the path.
The trio made several safety-related improvements to the beach entrance. They separated the existing path into two distinct areas for pedestrians and motorcyclists. On the staircase, they removed the railing bisecting the stairs in favor of railings on either side to lower the risk of falling. The new setup provides more space on the stairs, which the group connected into one wider staircase to better accommodate foot traffic.
Their efforts have been equally rewarding for the community, who have already seen improvements within just a few weeks. “The projects made an immediate impact. Seniors, children, families with strollers, and wheelchair users started using the ramp, stairs, and handrails to more easily access the beach right away, even before we were fully finished with the final details. It's something that helps locals and visitors all day, every day,” observed Henderson.
As the program continues, Tufts looks forward to maintaining its strong relationships with community members and implementing sustainable solutions. “One of the key ways that this project diverges from other projects is that we relied on community members to evaluate the success of the project, as well as the contributions of the students. We were incredibly proud to hear our community partners speak highly of the ways our students listened and collaborated throughout the project, and we look forward to the next cohort’s participation in the program,” said Henderson.