Janine Siqueira Borges

Ph.D. Candidate in Engineering Education

Graduate Research Assistant, Engineering for Human Rights Initiative
Advisor: Dr. Davis Chacón-Hurtado

Janine Siqueira Borges is a Ph.D. student in Engineering Education at the University of Connecticut. Her research explores how engineering education can better prepare students to recognize and address the human rights implications of engineering decisions. She is especially interested in human-centered education, ethics and social responsibility, community-engaged research, sustainability, environmental justice, and the evolving role of artificial intelligence in engineering learning.

As a graduate research assistant with UConn’s Engineering for Human Rights Initiative, Janine contributes to research examining engineering students’ attitudes toward ethics and human rights and evaluating educational interventions that integrate human rights into engineering curricula. Her work combines quantitative and qualitative approaches, including survey research, psychometric analysis, interviews, and computational text analysis.

Before joining UConn, Janine earned an M.S. in Ecology and Environmental Sciences from the University of Maine. Her master’s research examined how Local Energy Action Networks support community-led renewable energy and energy-efficiency initiatives in underserved communities across the United States.

Originally from Brazil, Janine is committed to connecting research, teaching, and community partnership. Her long-term goal is to help create a more human-centered form of engineering education—one that prepares engineers not only to solve technical problems, but also to understand the people, communities, and rights affected by their work.

Research Interests:

* Engineering education and human rights
* Human-centered and socially responsible engineering
* Artificial intelligence in engineering education
* Community-engaged research
* Sustainability, environmental justice, and energy justice
* Mixed-methods and psychometric research

Education:

Ph.D. in Engineering Education, University of Connecticut — In progress
M.S. in Ecology and Environmental Sciences, University of Maine — 2025