Objectives

Kuwasha aims to establish a sustainable platform and a community of practice for ethical approaches to International Service-Learning at UBC. Through community engagement initiatives we hope to bring together the experience and insights of UBC students, AMS clubs and faculty, as well as collaborators in partner countries, to move towards creating sustainable, supportive and ethical practices for ISL projects. Our goal is to ensure that ethical considerations have a permanent place in the ISL culture at UBC.

International Service-Learning:
The popularity of International Service-Learning (ISL) projects is rapidly growing. Through ISL, students have the opportunity to work and learn in an international setting (often in developing countries) and to improve the quality of life in their host communities. Service Learning has a huge potential to enrich classroom learning with ‘real life’ experience, to enable students to promote equity, and to work with and for communities – particularly those that are most vulnerable.

Biodiesel Production:
Kuwasha project has formed a collaboration with the “Alternative Energy Club” (UBC Biodiesel Initiative funded by the AMS Innovative Projects Fund in 2008) in working together to propose a dry-wash biodiesel post-treatment system. The washing step in the biodiesel production will be designed, fabricated and tested at the biodiesel production facility at UBC. The undergraduate students from both Chemical and Biological Engineering and Mechanical Engineering will be engaged in coming up with the solution that is not only needed here at UBC, but also applicable as a prototype model for Kuwasha.