Engineers Without Borders UK

About Engineers Without Borders UK

Engineers Without Borders started when a group of engineers gave their time and their skills to help people in Ethiopia during the famine of the early 1980s. Now there are 60 organisations around the world.

Our organisation, Engineers Without Borders UK, emerged at the beginning of the millennium, during an era of greater global consciousness, which saw the world commit to the Millennium Development Goals.

In 2001, a group of students at University of Cambridge were inspired by one of the founders of Engineers Without Borders Canada, and set up the organisation in the UK.

We became a registered company and charity in 2004, but the big shift came in 2006 when we went from being a group of volunteers to having permanent professional staff.

In 2011, we began to make an impact on the UK’s education system. Our award-winning Engineering for People Design Challenge prepares students, the engineers of the future, to become globally responsible engineers.

In 2016, we launched our five year ‘Engineering Change’ strategy, which introduced globally responsible engineering and our intention to transform engineering so that it benefits everyone.

Today, we continue to grow in size, reach, impact and ambition. We are now focused on reaching the tipping point where global responsibility becomes integral to the way all engineering is taught and practiced. By 2030 we will build a movement of over half a million people, powerful enough to radically transform the culture of engineering.

Together we will ensure a safe and just future for all.