As an international research group, we have seen how the pandemic has affected the lives, and crucially for us, the studies of people all around the world. While the governments have been imposing restrictions, controlling borders, administering tests and vaccines, as educators we have had to learn and develop new strategies to support our students. As a group focused on humanitarian engineering, we have had an opportunity to develop, observe and share solutions for delivering education in the middle of a truly global humanitarian crisis.

Currently, our institutions are facing restrictions that range widely, from countries where a strict lockdown is in place and campuses remain closed to all students and staff, to countries and regions preparing for the imminent return of students to their classes. Undoubtedly, lockdowns and other restrictions have had a tangible limiting effect on how an engineering education can be delivered. Some programmes have had to eliminate fieldwork from their curriculum all together, others are facing problems around student access to laboratories. Even the simplest of restrictions such as limits to class sizes will have an effect on the way that students can receive their teaching.

E-learning has of course, gained huge significance during this time. The proportion of interaction that takes place online between educators and students has increased to a point that would have previously been unthinkable. In all of this, we have been sharing our practice as a group and discussing the various methods employed by our institutions. We have seen that the advantages of live lectures might be outweighed by concerns about information security or the privacy of students and staff. At the same time, approaches that use asynchronous methods can leave a void in the student experience when they miss out on direct interaction with their teachers and peers.

Discussing and solving some of these dilemmas is a part of what ENHANCE can do, to support the improvement of engineering education and achieve our goals, even in the middle of a pandemic.