SESH Program
In disaster-prone regions around the world, seismic risk is a daily reality. Through SESH, students are stepping up to make a difference by applying their knowledge to real-world challenges, retrofitting vulnerable buildings, and transforming communities.
In partnership with California Polytechnic University and Miyamoto Relief, SESH turns education into global impact.
At Miyamoto Relief, we believe in empowering the next generation of engineers to create real-world impact. The SESH (Student Engineers for Seismic Safety and Humanitarianism) program is a transformative initiative that brings together education and global service. Designed in collaboration with California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), SESH allows students to apply seismic safety knowledge in underserved, high-risk communities around the world.
From theory to action, students work side-by-side with local engineers, NGOs, and vulnerable populations to design and implement seismic retrofits that save lives.
This powerful partnership bridges academic excellence with humanitarian action. Through Cal Poly’s “Learn by Doing” philosophy and Miyamoto Relief’s field expertise, students receive unparalleled hands-on experience, applying classroom learning to the real-world challenges of seismic resilience.
Together, we’re shaping the next generation of socially conscious engineers while improving the safety of vulnerable buildings in earthquake-prone regions.
Since its launch, the SESH program has become a powerful example of what happens when education, humanitarianism, and engineering intersect. Together with our partners at Cal Poly and the support of Miyamoto Relief, student engineers have stepped beyond the classroom and into communities where their skills can save lives.
Structural Engineering Students for Humanity (SESH) is a student-led initiative from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Since 2011, SESH has provided Cal Poly architectural engineering students with transformative, hands-on learning experiences in post-disaster settings. Working alongside Miyamoto Relief engineers, students support structural assessments, design retrofits, and participate in reconstruction and community engagement—all while building critical leadership and problem-solving skills.
Miyamoto Relief is a nonprofit technical organization dedicated to saving lives through advanced engineering solutions in disaster-prone and conflict-affected areas. Our work addresses one of the most urgent and preventable challenges in humanitarian crises: the collapse of unsafe buildings during earthquakes. With a focus on seismically resilient schools, housing, and heritage structures, Miyamoto Relief combines global expertise with local partnerships to deliver lasting, scalable solutions.
Together, Miyamoto Relief and SESH empower the next generation of engineers to apply their education for global good, delivering real-world impact in communities most vulnerable to disaster.
Since 2013, SESH and Miyamoto Relief have partnered annually on international engineering missions across the globe. These missions are centered on technical rigor, cultural collaboration, and sustainable reconstruction.
This enduring partnership has earned global recognition, including Engineering News-Record’s Global Best Project Awards, and is considered a model of “Learn by Doing” for humanitarian engineering.
After the 2015 Nepal earthquake, which destroyed thousands of schools and heritage sites, SESH and Miyamoto Relief launched a multi-year collaboration in Kathmandu and surrounding regions.
This neoclassical palace in Kathmandu Durbar Square, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was structurally damaged in the quake. SESH students helped with as-built drawings, damage assessments, and retrofit proposals. The palace became the first neoclassical building retrofitted post-earthquake, setting national engineering guidelines for future heritage preservation.
Students documented conditions, developed retrofit strategies, and raised significant funds to support seismic upgrades. These efforts helped return over 700 children to safe classrooms, many of whom had been studying in unsafe or temporary structures.
Students also engaged with local engineers, trained masons, and conducted community interviews— integrating engineering solutions with cultural sensitivity and education
In the wake of Haiti’s devastating 2010 earthquake, SESH partnered with Miyamoto Relief to rebuild schools and assess critical infrastructure.
This high school in Port-au-Prince was dangerously compromised. SESH contributed to field assessments and supported the rebuild that protected over 1,400 students. Four years later, the school remained in excellent condition, thanks to the engineering-led approach and community stewardship.
SESH supported a grassroots project in Cité Soleil to create a new library through community-led design and construction. Miyamoto Relief offered technical and financial support. Today, the library serves as a beacon of hope and learning for thousands of children and youth.
In Yangon, SESH students assessed the structural safety of two major university buildings: the central administration building at Yangon Technological University and the main library at Yangon University.
Students conducted structural diagnostics and designed retrofit options, which they presented to university officials. Miyamoto engineers helped ensure feasibility and international compliance.
Working directly with Myanmar engineering students and professors, SESH facilitated mutual learning and built professional ties across borders.
In coastal Pedernales—hit hard by a 2016 earthquake—SESH and Miyamoto Relief supported rebuilding efforts using bamboo, a local, renewable, and seismically sound material.
Students helped construct a bamboo-framed community learning center, using techniques taught by local artisans and Miyamoto’s Ecuador team. The building now hosts workshops, education sessions, and serves as a model for future safe housing.
This project also included training for local workers and knowledge exchange with Ecuador’s bamboo construction associations, promoting resilience, employment, and housing sector revitalization.
SESH joined Miyamoto Relief’s KUAT program (USAID-funded) to map and reduce risks in urban slums in Greater Jakarta.
SESH students conducted detailed neighborhood surveys, identified building vulnerabilities, and collaborated with local engineering students from ITB and UNTAR.
The data informed a risk mapping tool and simple, actionable construction improvements to protect homes from floods and earthquakes.
A return mission is planned for 2024 to help refine and implement these community-level recommendations, continuing a model of sustained resilience-building.
Miyamoto Relief and SESH share a vision: to protect life through engineering. Each project demonstrates how structural knowledge, when shared across cultures and generations, can transform communities.
Projects in Haiti and Nepal won ENR Global Best Project Awards, highlighting student contributions to world-class engineering outcomes.
Students graduate with a deeper understanding of disaster resilience, engineering for humanity, and the cultural contexts of construction.
Local capacity grows through each partnership—masons learn safer building methods, engineers refine retrofit designs, and communities gain confidence in their built environment.
Your support enables more students to contribute to life-saving projects and brings seismic safety to those who need it most. Every dollar funds training, travel, tools, and materials that directly support on-the-ground impact.
