Honors Development Studies Center (HDSC)

Mission

To engage science and engineering faculty and students in philanthropic research focused on solving life-threatening issues faced by citizens in impoverished countries.

"As a student and as a professor, the opportunities to follow are limitless. A place where research is a pathway to critical change."
- Prof. Robert Giles, HDSC Director

Research and Study Abroad

The Honors Development Studies Center (HDSC) at UMass Lowell now extends its impact beyond the Caribbean to include research and study abroad programs in Ghana, through the Honors seminar courses, Energy and the Developing World and Science and Technology in the Impoverished World. These courses allow students to explore issues of energy, water, food, and regional cooperation, engaging directly with Ghanaian faculty, students, and communities. These cross-continental collaborations offer hands-on experience in sustainable development while fostering mutual learning and cultural exchange.

Read about how UMass Lowell faculty and students are researching biodigester solutions to Haiti’s sanitation issues.

In countries like Haiti and Ghana, identified by global financial and development institutions as part of the most economically challenged regions of the world, communities continue to face compounding pressures from overpopulation, environmental degradation, limited infrastructure, and public health crises. In Ghana’s underserved rural and peri-urban areas, access to reliable electricity, clean water, and sustainable food sources remains uncertain, just as it is in Haiti’s Southern Department. These are not isolated issues but shared structural barriers that hinder economic growth and long-term resilience.

Whether in West Africa or the Caribbean, communities are often politically and socially fragmented. They confront daily realities shaped by air and water contamination, inadequate sanitation, and soil depletion. These environmental and infrastructural shortcomings, exacerbated by climate change, contribute to the spread of disease, the suppression of education, and the stagnation of opportunity, especially among youth and women.

International development programs, while well-meaning, often fall short of delivering sustainable results when they address only the symptoms. HDSC instead fosters long-term partnerships that center on local voices, student research, and scalable, science-driven solutions tailored to each region’s context. By linking research with direct engagement, UMass Lowell students are gaining a deeper understanding of the systemic challenges faced by nations like Haiti and Ghana, becoming catalysts for change in the process.