HumTechLab at HNPW 2019!
From 3-8 February, 2019 a delegation of thirteen TU Delft students from the HumTechLab traveled to Geneva to attended the Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week (HNPW) in the humanitarian capital of the world. Experts in crisis preparedness and response from a diversity of organizations and from all over the world came together at this conference to identify solutions to common humanitarian challenges. Throughout the week, TU Delft students took the opportunity to make their voices heard. On Wednesday, several students from the HumTechLab Thesis Circle presented their expertise on a wide range of innovative humanitarian-related topics.
The annual HNPW event is the largest gathering of humanitarians in the world and occurs each year in Geneva, Switzerland. Presentations were led by experts from the UN, OCHA, IFRC, and many other organizations from the public and private sector. Challenges discussed included: engaging local communities, including the private sector, rights of disabled persons, airport logistics and warehouse pre-positioning, among many others.
At the University Surge Support Group session (initiated and run by the HumTechLab staff), students had the unique opportunity to present their own work, research and ideas to the humanitarian community. They shared their thoughts on the future of topics such as: Airport Response, Disability Rights, Information Sharing, Big Data and Public Health Models and received a great deal of feedback and invitations to collaborate. It was a week full of networking, learning from experienced humanitarians, eating fondue and exploring Geneva.
“For me, the trip we made to the HNPW gave me insight in how the humanitarian sector is using technologies that we as students do not think twice about. I think this served as a wake-up call for us as we do not often experience how sectors which are not tech-centered use technology or data. I think experiencing that for the humanitarian sector data use and tech is still in its infancy can help us put the work we do at the HumTechLab in context and hopefully make it more useful for the sector.” | |
| “Great to be offered the opportunity to present my research findings at the Humanitarian Network and Partnership Week in Geneva this week. It was very educational to be confronted with a multitude of perspectives and interact with many inspiring people. Above all it was a lot of fun. Now back to Delft to prepare my thesis defense that will take place at the TU Delft later this month.” – Jasper Meijering | |
| “Experts in crisis preparedness and response from a diversity of organizations from all over the world came together at this conference and shared their experiences in the field to identify solutions to common humanitarian challenges. It was not only enriching to interact with these experienced humanitarians, but also great fun!” – Titia Kuipers | |
| “Experts at the conference emphasized the need for better use of limited humanitarian resources, especially under the uncertainty surrounding complex disasters and climate change. One of my goals in attending was to gain feedback on how we can be more effective at fighting preventable diseases in disaster-prone areas. I hope that applications of decision-making models and simulations can help with more strategic use of limited resources.” – Shannon M. Gross |