Humanitarian Technology Summer Internship (HTSI)
Co-organised by LEI and the Centre for Global Engineering (CGEN) of The University of Toronto, the Humanitarian Technology Summer Internship (HTSI) is a Hong Kong-based program that assembles young innovators to develop technology and services to address unmet needs affecting communities at the Base of the Pyramid (BoP). Students will engage in authentic problem-solving by collaborating with field partners in developing countries and social workers in cities that serve the underprivileged.
What will interns do?
Interns from various universities and disciplines worldwide will collaborate with engineers, designers, and other professionals for 6 weeks on one or more of their preferred projects. HTSI is structured similarly to capstone projects (or final-year projects), where interns work in teams under the supervision of their project supervisors. While interns will receive in-house technical support, they should anticipate minimal supervision in their daily tasks. Weekly meetings will be held for all interns and teams to report their progress.
Additionally, interns have the option to participate in field exploration trips during the 6-week programme. These trips typically last between 1 to 2 weeks and are co-organised by university partners in the hosting country (e.g. Philippines, India, Indonesia, Thailand, etc.). During these trips, interns will have the chance to meet with field project partners and target users, gaining a deeper understanding of the problems they are addressing and the communities they are serving.
Some of the past and current projects include:
Climate adaptive baby incubator
Carer-driven electric wheelchairs
Trisikad (tricycle) for flood fond Philippines
Portable water testing module for rural emergencies
Transparent filtration masks for lip-reading population
More info on the exploration trips can be found here
