The Engineers in Technical, Humanitarian Opportunities of Service-learning (ETHOS) program at the University of Dayton (Dayton, Ohio), designed by an interdisciplinary undergraduate engineering student team under faculty facilitation, incorporates educational philosophies guided by various diverse backgrounds. These guiding principles include appropriate technologies, sustainable development, the Catholic Marianist tradition, E.F. Schumacher’s “Small is Beautiful”, engineering ethics, service-learning principles, promotion of engineering vocation and other values consistent with appropriate application of humanitarian efforts. The ETHOS program seeks to provide opportunities where students gain understanding of technology’s global linkage with values, culture, society, politics and economy.

The ETHOS program facilitates curriculum integrated service-learning programming, including international technical immersions, classroom projects, student organization activities, and independent/collaborative research. Such opportunities expose students to alternative, non-traditional technologies that are based on fundamental science and engineering principles; thus, allowing higher comprehension of curriculum material in a hands-on, practical and humanitarian manner. Further, these experiences support the facilitation of appropriate and sustainable technologies for the developing world, locally and globally.

This paper presents a detailed description of the ETHOS program’s educational pedagogy in relation to facilitation of student learning and provision of unique learning opportunities. Specifically, this paper presents the ETHOS program’s methodology and approach to integrated engineering service-learning and appropriate technology education.