Inspiring engineers into humanitarian action

Through RedR Australia’s world-classhumanitarian training courses, professionalslike Jenna from Arup receive valuable skillsand experiences to make a difference incommunities around the world.

Through RedR Australia’s world-class humanitarian training courses, professionals like Jenna from Arup receive valuable skills and experiences to make a difference in communities around the world.

Jenna is committed to social change – not just in her own city and country, but also globally. A Senior Environmental Consultant at Arup, one of the world’s most esteemed design and engineering firms, she is drawn to understanding how societies can best work with the natural environment.

In her role at Arup, Jenna provides planning and environmental advice for a range of clients across Australia. However, she has also set her sights further afield.

“I studied geography at university, so I find the natural disaster space really fascinating,” Jenna said. “I am interested in how we can help manage natural disasters and improve local infrastructure, in order to reduce the overall damage from an event.”

Jenna believes community service is an important value for all professionals, particularly those in her sector. “If you have the expertise and skills, and you can provide your time to help improve someone else's quality of life, I think it’s really important to do that,” Jenna said.

Jenna’s journey into humanitarian work started when she was working for Arup in the United Kingdom. Arup is a major partner of the RedR Federation, a network of humanitarian response organisations. Arup’s core values include engaging with local communities to do socially useful work, and to join hands with others committed to the same values. The company encourages its employees to volunteer for community engagement initiatives and participate in RedR’s training courses.

In 2015, Jenna joined a one-day RedR UK course on the essentials of humanitarianism and this experience proved to be hugely influential for Jenna’s professional journey.

Jenna went on to become a RedR UK representative in her Arup office and, following this, she volunteered for a social enterprise called Pollinate Energy in India, supporting the organisation with a solar energy project within the tent communities in Hyderabad.

“The experience at Pollinate Energy was a big eye opener for me. I worked with a large number of people from many different backgrounds, and I learnt the value of helping others to help themselves,” Jenna said.

Now based in Australia, Jenna has become Arup’s RedR Australasia Relationship Manager and she is continuing her journey in humanitarian work.

Jenna recently completed RedR Australia’s Essentials of Humanitarian Practice and Hostile Environment Awareness Training courses, which are required to join the RedR Australia roster for deployment into humanitarian responses.

“At some stage, I would really like to undertake a deployment with RedR Australia to provide technical assistance to help those suffering from a natural disaster,” Jenna said.

Jenna (bottom) worked closely with her colleagues from Arup during RedR Australia humanitarian courses.

“If you have the expertise and skills, and you can provide your time to help improve someone else's quality of life, I think it’s really important to do that

Jennet Beckett, Senior Environment Consultant at Arup

As well as running regular humanitarian training courses in Australia, Fiji and Jordan, RedR Australia also maintains a roster of nearly 800 technical specialists – skilled people who can be called upon to help partner organisations, such as United Nations agencies, to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies.

Jenna (second from left) and her teammates at RedR Australia's Global Humanitarian Challenge.

Jenna also worked closely with RedR Australia to develop their annual one-day course, the Global Humanitarian Challenge, which was launched in 2018.

“For Arup, this one-day course is fantastic. Many of our staff want to be involved in the humanitarian space but often aren’t sure how best to provide their time and skills. There is a range of involvement that we can provide, from remote technical assistance to in-country support.

"Importantly, the course includes an in-depth simulation of a humanitarian response. This is key, because it provides people with an awareness of what it could feel like to be immersed in that situation. It's an important step towards helping our staff understand how they can fit into the humanitarian space and provide the most relevant support to RedR Australia,” Jenna said.

Jenna speaks highly of RedR Australia’s training staff and volunteers. As simulation exercises are critical to stretching participants’ skills, additional volunteers are needed to help create realistic simulations.

“RedR Australia’s trainers and volunteers play an incredible role within the simulations, making the experience feel very ‘life-like’. Even though you know you're in a safe environment and it's not actually happening, it does feel real and sometimes very uncomfortable. This is critical to the success of RedR Australia’s courses and is a credit to the staff and volunteers.

“I was surprised by how I responded during the simulations, and I think that's really valuable – to know how you may respond in that situation and learn from it,” Jenna said.

Jenna’s not the only Arup employee who has found RedR Australia’s training to be life-changing. As part of her role, Jenna recently conducted a review of Arup employees who have participated in RedR Australia’s courses.

“A lot of the people who have participated in the one-day introductory course have gone on to be more involved with community engagement across Australasia.

“For example, someone from our Indonesia office has just taken a six-month leave of absence from Arup to be a project manager for an international development project in Rwanda. She did the one-day Global Humanitarian Challenge and she specifically said that course inspired her to pursue further international experience,” Jenna said.

For Jenna, this is what it’s all about. She is a keen advocate for RedR Australia’s training courses and is aiming to help build up awareness of the RedR Australia roster among Arup experts.

“Arup has a very strong global relationship with RedR Australia and we are able to mutually support each other,” Jenna said.

To learn more about RedR Australia’s training courses and take your first step towards a humanitarian career, visit: https://www.redr.org.au/training-courses/our-courses/

Consult Australia is a founding body of RedR Australia. GHD's Jill Hannaford is the Consult Australia representative on the RedR Australia Board.

Jill Farrar,

RedR Australia