Engineering World Health

EWH is a dynamic global organization serving engineering students, healthcare professionals, communities around the world and, most importantly, patients in need. 

We find innovative solutions and creative ways to inspire, educate, and empower the biomedical engineering community to improve healthcare delivery around the world.

Our five strategic focus areas are:

Summer Institutes: We engage university students and young professionals from around the world to use their engineering skills for good. Through our Institute programs, EWH offers volunteers an eye-opening, life-changing experience that encourages life-long engagement with global health, and enables participants to immediately provide meaningful service to patients in the low-income countries. Over 1,200 university students have participated in our Institutes since 2004, making upwards of 13,000 repairs in hospitals around the world and completing over $26 million worth of service. After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2022 we ran four successful programs in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Rwanda, and Nepal.

Engineering Education: We provide meaningful opportunities to the next generation of leaders and global citizens through K-12 STEM programming and design activities to improve global health. EWH’s Biomedical Instrumentation Kits provide students with hands-on opportunities to engage with key engineering concepts and connect what they learn with practical biomedical applications. Thanks to support from EWH partners and donors, in 2022 we've provided free Kits and learning materials to eight Title 1 schools for use with over 700 students. Our growing BMET Library provides free access to resources for the repair and maintenance of vital medical equipment to thousands of users around the world each year. 

Virtual Programs: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, EWH launched our first-ever virtual programs. We've continued to build on that framework and create a robust offering of virtual opportunities to foster international exchange and collaboration for hundreds of high school and university students around the world. EWH virtual programs serve as an excellent introduction to low-resource engineering and challenge students to create innovative solutions to pressing global health problems. 

University Chapters: EWH Chapters provide students with exclusive opportunities and ways to connect to the global biomedical engineering community. Over 500 students belong to 30+ Chapters around the world; they conduct K-12 STEM outreach with local schools, organize hackathons to tackle global health challenges, participate in EWH's annual Design Competition, and organize global service projects. 

Cultural Exchange: Fostering cultural exchange is at the core of our work. Each EWH program includes important lessons in cultural awareness to better prepare students for international work and collaboration and ensure that students are getting the most out of each experience.