The course Engineering for Community Development, in the Civil Engineering department of Columbia University, introduces undergraduate engineering students to the challenges and realities of implementing design solutions with high risk, low resource communities in urban and rural settings – in both developed and developing countries. There are two roles available to support the course faculty in delivering a quality learning experience: (1) a Teaching Fellow who is a professional with technical experience related to development, and (2) a Teaching Assistant (graduate student) or Class Assistant (undergraduate student). Please see our separate job post for details about the Teaching Assistant or Class Assistant position.
Responsibilities include:
- Attending lectures on campus once per week, 4:10-6:40 on Thursdays
- Holding 1 office hour per week, virtual or in-person
- Supporting faculty in developing lectures, assignments, and in-class activities
- Grading homework assignments and quizzes
- Leading certain class activities or break-out discussions
- Teaching mini-lectures according to the Teaching Fellow’s area of expertise
- Mentoring student teams in developing context-appropriate projects
The time commitment is estimated at 8-12 hours per week, starting December for course preparation through the middle of May. A stipend is provided. This fellowship presents growth opportunities towards an adjunct lecturer position.
Teaching Fellow Requirements:
- Community development, relief, or risk-reduction experience
- Technical experience (engineer, architect, data, construction, design, etc.) with low resource or high risk communities
- An undergraduate degree in a technical field OR any undergraduate degree plus 3+ years relevant experience OR no higher education degree with 10+ years relevant experience
- Cross-cultural or international experience
- Excellent writing and editing skills
- Comfortable talking in front of a group
- Enjoys interacting with people from a variety of backgrounds
- Highly organized and motivated
- COVID-19 vaccination, unless you have an exemption according to New York State law
- General alignment with the course approach and values including anti-racism, anti-colonialism, gender sensitivity mainstreaming, and the course description below:The focus of this course is on preparing globally responsible professionals to apply integrated and participatory projects to support sustainable self-sufficiency. The course starts with the history, context, and theory of international development. Initial assignments help orient the students and allow them to explore their interests. Later, students form teams based around similar areas of focus and work on context-appropriate projects following a Design for Impact process which builds towards a fully formulated intervention consisting of an engineering design, an action plan, and the identification of indicators for impact evaluation. Each week also focuses on the role of engineering in achieving a different Sustainable Development Goal, and students learn real-world examples of development work across technical sectors including water, sanitation, energy, health, communication technology, shelter, food systems, and environment.People typically marginalized in engineering and international development leadership, including BIPOC, womxn, and people from developing communities, are especially encouraged to apply. U.S. citizenship is not required.
Candidates should send their resume and letter of interest to [email protected] (or apply on LinkedIn using the provided link) by December 5th or until filled.
