#  Engineering students develop ‘clicker’ tool to help humanitarian workers in field 

 





The Harvard Humanitarian Initiative team worked with Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences class on project



 

December 18, 2025

 

 

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Humanitarian workers in the field often need to quickly count and categorize people—for example, individuals fleeing a disaster crossing border checkpoints—to help assess a population’s needs. Doing this with pen and paper is inefficient but using a phone or other digital device can be impractical in certain settings.

Over the fall semester, 15 students at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) took on the challenge of coming up with a new solution, working closely with their “client” Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI). They were enrolled in the course Engineering Problem Solving and Design Project, which is offered twice a year and gives students the chance to apply their engineering know-how to a real-world problem.

“As HHI is an inter-faculty initiative, we are always looking for ways to engage with various schools and teaching hospitals throughout our Harvard ecosystem to advance interdisciplinary collaboration,” said Irini Albanti, HHI executive director and lecturer in the Department of Health Policy and Management at Harvard Chan School. She worked closely with David Mooney, Robert P. Pinkas Family Professor of Bioengineering at SEAS, to plan and coordinate the course.

Students spent time with HHI faculty, staff, and visiting scientists to learn about their research and programs, and challenges facing the field. They then worked through a design process under Mooney’s guidance to develop a deliverable.

[**Read the full write-up here.** ](https://hsph.harvard.edu/news/engineering-students-develop-clicker-tool-to-help-humanitarian-workers-in-field/)



 

 

 



 

 

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