Community-Based Innovation

Engineering in Service to Society

Duke Engineering is strengthening local and global connections through community-engaged research, transformative learning and impactful STEM outreach. Our mission is to serve society by turning innovation into action and making a lasting difference with the communities we serve.

aerial view of Durham

Upcoming Events

Dec 8

Pratt Design Expo

Join us for the Pratt Design Expo on December 8th in the Trent Semans Center Great Hall. Student design teams from EGR 101, EGR 102, and the departments of Biomedical […]

1:00 pm – 6:30 pm Trent Semans Center for Health Education – Great Hall

Feb 11

#SCAI2026 – Conference on Society-Centered AI

The #SCAI2026: Conference on Society-Centered AI (previously Responsible AI Symposium), co-sponsored by The Society-Centered AI Initiative at Duke, the Fuqua School of Business, and the Duke Artificial Intelligence Master of […]

Fuqua School of Business

Community-Engaged Research & Design

The search for solutions shouldn’t happen in a vacuum. Our faculty and students design with the end user in mind, integrating community input to build trust and create more effective, holistic results.

Digital Biomarker Discovery Project (DBDP) logo on blue background

Digital Biomarker Discovery Project (DBDP)

Digital biomarkers are digitally collected data that are transformed into indicators of health outcomes. The purpose of the DBDP is to make discovering digital biomarkers more accessible. From the input of wearable sensor data to the development of machine learning algorithms, we provide an open source software resource for the digital biomarker community.

Researcher stepping out of a mobile trailer for the center for WaSH-AID at a community demonstration

Center for Water, Sanitation, Hygiene, & Infectious Disease

Initially funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Duke University Center for WaSH-AID collaborates globally to co-design pilot demonstrations for treating blackwater, greywater, and stormwater, while also developing technologies to generate health data through wastewater.

group of women students posing outside of a pink trailer

Center for Global Women’s Health Technologies

From Durham to South America to Central Africa, GWHT collaborates with women of all ages, developing affordable health solutions for field implementation and inspiring interest in the sciences.

Community-Based Learning

Students actively learn through direct, hands-on experiences. They see the issues they study firsthand, while meaningfully contributing to the analysis and solution of real-world challenges.

Two graduate students in a lab working with pelvic exam equipment

BME 462L: Design for the Developing World

Student teams will apply the engineering design process to create community-driven focused solutions for global health applications. The course will build students’ ability to understand the relationship between global health and engineering while constructing and testing prototype solutions to design challenges from global partners. Students will collaboratively build solutions driven by global partnerships and human-centered design to better unite theory, application, and reflection through a global lens.

The Durham Sign at American Tobacco Campus was created by Liberty Arts and Cricket Forge and erected in April of 2019 as a tribute to the strength and resilience of the Durham community. Photo by Discover Durham

EGR 190: Introduction to Community Engagement for Engineers

Designed to guide engineering students through skill development and experiential learning opportunities as they expand their engagement with organizations and individuals in the Durham community.

students gather around a board covered in paper and post-it notes

DESIGNTK 540: Design Ethics & Social Innovation

In this course, students use methodologies and frameworks related to design ethics, design justice, participatory and co-design, and social innovation while completing a semester-long innovation project focused on a single client.

STEM Outreach

Duke Engineering supports a wide range of programs that work with local partners to inspire the next generation of problem-solvers.

Females and Allies Excelling More in Math, Engineering, and Science (FEMMES+) logo

FEMMES+

FEMMES+ is a STEM outreach organization offering hands-on learning opportunities to local Durham students. The FEMMES+ After-School Program and Saturday Program provide two free 5-week programs for elementary students. FEMMES+ also has a yearlong Connect mentorship program along with a Summer Camp, Hacks, and Capstone event.

Duke Aviators club members standing in from of the Duke Chapel for a group photo with their organization's sign

Duke Aviators

Duke Aviators is a student organization dedicated to sharing a passion for flying and aviation with the larger University and RTP community. 

Durham Public Schools logo with Durham skyline silhouette on dark blue background

DPS/Duke Engineering STEM After-school Program

Duke Engineering faculty, staff, and students offer engaging, hands-on STEM activities to middle school students in Durham Public Schools during the ENCORE! Afterschool Program.

Community-Based Innovation Stories

Prof. Judy Ledlee partners with Radiant Rays to lead a prototyping workshop to design solar carports to be accessible solar installations for low-income communities.

Browse Programs

The examples highlighted above represent only a small fraction of the community-based innovation efforts happening across Duke’s campus and the world!

Contact Us

How can Duke help spark innovation in your community? Email Pratt-CBI@duke.edu or complete the form below to learn more.

Alisha Brice Profile Photo
Alisha Brice Profile Photo

Alisha Brice

Director, Community-Based Innovation