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Programme

EHA - Engineering for Humanitarian Action

Bridging the Gap between Humanitarian Needs and Technological Innovation

The Engineering for Humanitarian Action (EHA) initiative was launched in 2020 by the ICRS, ETH Zürich and EPFL to harness the scientific and technological expertise of Switzerland’s two federal institutes of technology to support humanitarian action.

The EHA initiative develops, tests and scales innovations that help address the most pressing humanitarian challenges and creates educational programs for humanitarian workers.

Under the EHA umbrella, several projects were developed as well as educational material with the MOOCs, the 2nd one being currently in production. More details on the MOOC can be found on our Education page.

Find out more about all the past and current projects in the right-hand side of this page, and on the EHA official page.

Credits Main Image: ICRC2018MamadouDiawoyeDia

Projects
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Projects managers
Grégoire Castella
Head of Humanitarian Action

Grégoire Castella

Head of Humanitarian Action

As leader of the EPFL EssentialTech’s Humanitarian Division, Greg works at the interface of research and humanitarian action. He is leading several large-scale partnerships between EPFL and the ICRC (Engineering for Humanitarian Action), the UNHCR (The Geneva Technical Hub) and the Graduate Institute (The Future of Humanitarian Design). He is also developing executive trainings for humanitarian practitioners on the responsible use of technology in humanitarian setting, as well as about cybersecurity in the sector. Prior to working at EssentialTech, he led the Innovation Coordination at MSF (Doctors Without Borders) Switzerland, aimed at harnessing the power of medical, humanitarian and digital innovations to meet the needs of patients and others affected by disasters. He previously worked several years as a manager for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in various regions affected by armed conflicts (Afghanistan, Colombia, Central African Republic, Cote d'Ivoire) and later as Deputy Director for the Antenna Foundation, an NGO that incubates innovative solutions to meet the basic needs of people living in poverty. He is the co-founder and current President of the Board of Watalux SA, a social startup developing innovation for safe water and better hygiene in hospitals, and Board Member of SwissSolidarity, a leading Swiss philanthropic foundation. He holds a PhD in Life Science from the University of Lausanne (Switzerland).

Emeline Darçot
Programme Manager - EHA

Emeline Darçot

Programme Manager - EHA

Dr. EmelineDarçot is a project manager at the EssentialTech Centre in Lausanne, Switzerland, which harnesses innovation in support of sustainable development,humanitarian action and peace promotion. She is currently coordinating the Engineering Humanitarian Action programme within the Humanitarian Division.

 She holds a PhD in Life Science from the University of Lausanne (Switzerland). After a PhD and a postdoctoral position in biomedical imaging at the University Hospital of Lausanne (CHUV), Emeline joined the EPFL EssentialTech Centre in 2021 as a project coordinator on the Ren’All Care project. She then joined the EPFL Research Office in 2022 as project manager and coordinates since then the Engineering Humanitarian Action programme within the Humanitarian Division of the EssentialTech Centre.