About

Connecting Engineering to Community Service

Today, the world faces significant challenges. Communities suffer inadequate education systems, environmental issues, vulnerable infrastructure, and lack of access to essential services. These issues aren’t concentrated solely in any one area. They can be found anywhere—from the heart of the United States to sub-Saharan Africa; from remote villages in Asia to bustling cities in Latin America.

Engineers are uniquely equipped to develop solutions to today’s challenges, which ultimately allows them to change communities. EPICS facilitates that change now and for future generations by creating a world where engineering education is intimately connected to community service.

Equipping students through service learning

For more than ten years, we’ve been providing both university and high school students the opportunity to work with engineering professionals and non-profit organizations to develop innovative solutions that transform communities around the world. This unique blend of technology and service-learning education delivers four critical benefits:

Workforce development

Students get equipped for the workforce by defining, designing, building, testing, and deploying engineering-based solutions to real life community challenges.

Professional skills

Students develop in-demand professional skills such as communication, collaboration, leadership, project management, and time management.

Non-profit support

Volunteers provide much-needed knowledge, skills, resources, and innovative solutions in partnering with community organizations on projects.

Advancing STEM

Through service-learning engineering curriculum, the program improves STEM education and inspires pre-university students to pursue STEM-based careers.

EPICS History

EPICS stands for Engineering Projects in Community Service. The program was founded in 1995 at Purdue University. It was created to meet a two-fold challenge: providing community service organizations with technology they need to improve and deliver services, and providing undergraduate students with educational experiences to broaden their skills.

The program has now spread to universities throughout the United States and abroad, as well several K-12 programs. EPICS in IEEE was founded in 2009 and has facilitated more than 180 projects in over 30 countries and has impacted more than 1,500,000 people through our university initiative and K-12 initiative.

Core Iniatives

EPICS helps fulfill the IEEE core purpose of fostering technological innovation and excellence for humanity. We provide funding, support, mentorship, and visibility for engineering projects in four core categories of community improvement.

Access and Abilities

More than 15 percent of the world population (about 1 billion people) live with disabilities, such as hearing, vision, mental health, or mobility impairments. These projects solve accessibility issues within communities, enable adaptive services, establish clinics for those in need, and develop assistive technologies.

Environment

Every region of the world faces challenges with environmental sustainability. Projects in this area focus on developing new ways to use renewable energy sources to better serve communities, such as creating drinkable water and generating electricity as well as improving communication services. Students also gain exposure to careers in alternative energy and environmental solutions.

Education and Outreach

Projects emphasize the creation of innovative tools by university students, that can be used to engage K-12 students in project-based STEM exploration. EPICS in IEEE encourages outreach projects to connect with another one of our pillars (Access and Abilities, Human Services and Environment) to ensure there is a community-oriented component to their projects (e.g. unique robotics kits that help with agriculture), but with a focus on education

Human Services

Students involved in these projects leverage technology to address the tremendous scope of community needs. This includes homelessness prevention, affordable housing, family and children agencies, human trafficking, neighborhood revitalization, and local government.

Learn how you can get involved in transforming communities

DONATE

Help fund engineering projects that transform communities

VOLUNTEER

Apply your passion and technical skills to life-changing projects

PARTNER

Join us in implementing solutions to local challenges as a community organization or university

Contact Us

ADDRESS

Ashley Moran
445 Hoes Lane
Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA

PHONE

+1 732-562-6552

EMAIL

epicsinieee@ieee.org

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