TY - GEN
T1 - Relationships as Engineering Infrastructure
T2 - 15th Annual IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference, GHTC 2025
AU - Perez, Yael Valerie
AU - Schwab, Cheryl
AU - Isaacson, Kathy
AU - Romine, Peter
AU - Chief, Karletta
AU - Gill, Dustina
AU - Brown, Donna
AU - Agogino, Alice Merner
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
©2025 IEEE.
PY - 2025
Y1 - 2025
N2 - This paper examines the effectiveness of the Native FEWS Alliance as a collaborative network supporting Indigenous students in Food, Energy, and Water Systems (FEWS) education and implementation projects. Through network analysis, we explore how relationships between individuals and institutions within the Alliance catalyze practical, community-driven work and help reshape academic environments—specifically by bridging institutional gaps that might otherwise hinder student transitions along FEWS career pathways. Using a mixed-methods approach—including network analysis and participant observation—we describe how these cross-institutional collaborations catalyzed student engagement, institutional transformation, and community-led engineering projects. Participation data from five annual gatherings involving over 250 participants across 68 institutions reveal a dynamic, distributed network anchored by recurring core participants and expanded through place-based engagement. Case studies highlight emergent collaborations such as UC Berkeley’s Development Engineering program with Navajo Technical University and Nist’o program with the STAR School, demonstrating the role of human relationships and community-based innovation. The Alliance offers a model of relationships as engineering infrastructure to support community-driven FEWS education and research.
AB - This paper examines the effectiveness of the Native FEWS Alliance as a collaborative network supporting Indigenous students in Food, Energy, and Water Systems (FEWS) education and implementation projects. Through network analysis, we explore how relationships between individuals and institutions within the Alliance catalyze practical, community-driven work and help reshape academic environments—specifically by bridging institutional gaps that might otherwise hinder student transitions along FEWS career pathways. Using a mixed-methods approach—including network analysis and participant observation—we describe how these cross-institutional collaborations catalyzed student engagement, institutional transformation, and community-led engineering projects. Participation data from five annual gatherings involving over 250 participants across 68 institutions reveal a dynamic, distributed network anchored by recurring core participants and expanded through place-based engagement. Case studies highlight emergent collaborations such as UC Berkeley’s Development Engineering program with Navajo Technical University and Nist’o program with the STAR School, demonstrating the role of human relationships and community-based innovation. The Alliance offers a model of relationships as engineering infrastructure to support community-driven FEWS education and research.
KW - collaborative design
KW - community-based engineering
KW - equity in engineering
KW - food-energy-water systems (FEWS)
KW - Indigenous communities
KW - network analysis
KW - place-based learning
KW - relational infrastructure
KW - STEM education
KW - tribal colleges
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105031429013
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105031429013#tab=citedBy
U2 - 10.1109/GHTC66843.2025.11266538
DO - 10.1109/GHTC66843.2025.11266538
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:105031429013
T3 - 2025 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference, GHTC 2025
BT - 2025 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference, GHTC 2025
PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Y2 - 22 October 2025 through 25 October 2025
ER -