The Autodesk Foundation invests deeply in the E4C Fellowship Program, donating financial resources, access to Autodesk design software, time and training on design tools and collaborating on research at the intersection of engineering and design with global development. Fellows who have worked with the Autodesk Foundation discuss the unique collaboration and what it meant to their experience.
Learn more about the E4C Fellowship Program here.
Dive into the research that has culminated from our work with the Autodesk Foundation and other collaborators
Damiana Pacheco Aviles: Architecture and urban planning, Ecuador
Life changing experience is how I describe my time as an Engineering for Change fellow with Autodesk Foundation. For more than ten years, I have learned about humanitarian architecture, international cooperation and urban development in Ecuador, the USA and Spain. However, in these past five months, I have finally witnessed how all these theoretical concepts are actually being put into practice through the work done by Autodesk Foundation and its portfolio organizations and startups. Being part of this experience has given hope that a sustainable, resilient, and equitable world is possible.
As an E4C fellow with Autodesk Foundation, I collaborated in the construction of a pilot Leadership Program for technical experts from ~40 nonprofits and startups in the Autodesk Foundation portfolio. The human centered design perspective applied in this program proposal allowed me to interact with CEOs and technical experts of sixteen non-profit organizations and startups. Talking with them allowed me to understand their work and how much they value Autodesk Foundation support.
The fellowship provided an outstanding mentor from Autodesk Foundation. Thanks to her, I had the opportunity to embrace my weaknesses and work on them. Autodesk Foundation made me feel part of its great community and gave me the opportunity to work directly with its portfolio nonprofits and startups. I applaud how much Autodesk Foundation values everyone’s feedback, time and work. During the team bi-weekly meetings, they used to start with kudos for different team members. I could see how sincere they were.
Spreading the value of the E4C fellowship to engineers, architects and designers is an obligation for all of us that had the opportunity to be part of it. Especially among early career professionals that have the desire to devote their lives to the humanitarian and development sector. Since, it will give them the opportunity to be paired with amazing organizations that are working on high quality, durable, innovative and suitable approaches towards a more sustainable, resilient, and equitable world.
Maajabu Alleluia Tito: Architecture, Rwanda
I was motivated to apply for the E4C fellowship beacause I really admire Autodesk Foundation and I recognized that it will be under its sponsorship. I really believe that Autodesk Foundation is a game changer throughout all its daily endeavors and I longed for too long to be part of its working or research team. Another very important fact, that pushed me to apply for the E4C fellowship is the new skills that I will earn, the solution provision that I will take part in and of course the stipend.
This E4C fellowship program really fits whithin my proffessional goals in a number of ways. Firstly, I am glad that I have been alllocated to working with BamCore since their sector of specialization is houses’ construction and this is interests me too much in search of techniques that bring about indoor builngs’ comfort. Secondly, This fellowship will make me a professional in using Autodesk Software Programs, and I have been longing for this since the early beginning of my architectural carrier. Thirdly, I am interested in getting global networks and inter-continental flow of ideas and experience, and this fellowship program will definitely lead to the attaining of these strong personal goals and intentions.
Charles Newman: Program Coordinator, Architecture, USA
I have worked primarily for very small architecture practices and so have limited experience coordinating the work of others and providing mentorship. My work with E4C is helping me gain confidence and experience in this area. I am also very interested in the work of the grantees of the Autodesk Foundation and know that I will learn a lot from seeing the work that they are doing around the world. I hope that I will be inspired by their impact and be able to apply some of what I have learned to my own social enterprises in Kinshasa and also build a network of practitioners who I can collaborate with on future projects!
Elisabeth van Overbeeke: Program Coordinator, Architecture, Canada
I applied to be a project coordinator because I admire the work that E4C is doing in connecting engineers and global development practitioners around the world. I also admire the work of the Autodesk Foundation and their grantees and am interested in contributing to that work.
I have worked primarily for very small architecture practices and so have limited experience coordinating the work of others and providing mentorship. My work with E4C is helping me gain confidence and experience in this area. I am also very interested in the work of the grantees of the Autodesk Foundation and know that I will learn a lot from seeing the work that they are doing around the world. I hope that I will be inspired by their impact and be able to apply some of what I have learned to my own social enterprises in Kinshasa and also build a network of practitioners who I can collaborate with on future projects!
Daliwa Joseph Bainamndi: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cameroon
I decided to join the E4C fellowship to acquire new competences in solving challenges related to SDGs in an innovative way so that I can empower my community back home in Cameroon. I would like to help women and girls reach their full potential, by means of engagement in their community’s economic development which contribute to building vibrant, gender balanced communities where everyone has the opportunities to live peacefully.
Kyla Strickler: Mechanical and Environmental Engineering, Peace Engineering, USA
When I was at Etown College, a professor introduced me to E4C, at which point I signed up for the newsletters. I always enjoyed reading about the projects fellows were involved in and thought how amazing an experience like that would be. As part of the Peace Engineering program at Drexel, we have an experiential learning, and this fellwoship was a top option. Since I have academic and professional experience in Autodesk programs, the partnership with the Autodesk Foundation made this opportunity even more appealing!
Juan Carlo Intriago Zambrano: Architecture, Urban Environmental Management, Ecuador
During my doctoral research, and thanks to one of my co-promotors, I became acquainted with the E4C organization. Given that my own project is supported by the TU Delft | Global Initiative—TU Delft’s platform for science and technology for global development—the strong connection with E4C turned into a natural process. The aims, structure and dynamics of E4C thrilled me since the very beginning. During several months, I was actively following the E4C’s activities, webinars, newsletters and website. Furthermore, I found the experiences of the 2020 cohort’s fellows quite inspirational. Therefore, when I came across with the E4C/Autodesk fellowship 2021, I knew it was an opportunity I did not want to miss. I knew the fellowship was the perfect opportunity to boost my career in the domain of global development.
Kevin Ndavi Ndeti, Electrical Engineering, Kenya
The fellowship is a great opportunity for me to interact with and learn from Engineers from around the world hoping to achieve similar goals as I do. I also hope to interact with more experienced Engineers who can share their invaluable experence and ideas. I hope to improve my skills using various Autodesk tools to achieve great engineering design. Most importantly, I hope the results of our research will ultimately be of benefit for all.
Valentina Ospina, Architecture, Colombia
This fellowship prepares me for the work life that awaits me, it gives me the opportunity to work as a team with people from other countries and cultures from which I hope to learn a lot. It also allows me to improve my research skills and work on a topic that I am passionate about, where the final product is a sustainable product that can help many people in different parts of the world. On the other hand, it also gives me the opportunity to deepen my knowledge in autodesk programs, these are a great tool to design in a more specific way and to be able to visualize a whole project.
Simeon Bunani, Architecture, Built Environment, Rwanda
Having developed an interest in the community wellbeing, self-reliance and peacebuilding through architecture, and after Dr.Josephine ( my mentor in professional development) gave me a brief introduction about this program, after my personal research and finding more about this program, the previous works, the reputation and the plan for the future of engineers,this fellowship program became more became more and more appealing for me to apply and try my chance. as a young Rwandan architet, I want to learn and be activated to design solution for both local and global challeges. I want to be part of the global community that believes that engineering can change the world. I want to feel the taste of being around, network, share ideas and experience with the minded people around the world put together in one platform which is the E4C fellowship program. when I learned that Autodesk as one of the world leading in BIM to be part of this program, I felt so excited due to my huge interest in BIM and its role on the future of architecture and engineering industries. I am sure that this fellowship will improve my research, communication, leadership and professional skills.
Dana Xue: Mechanical Engineering, Sustainability Focus, USA
Through my experiences in EGD so far, I’ve learned that science and art are incredibly linked in the work we do. As much as it’s about developing engineering solutions, performing rigorous testing, and doing computational work to verify solutions, it’s also about experiencing and appreciating the beauty of different communities, resources, and practices.
