I am Juliana, an engineer passionate about humanity. My work lies at the intersection of humanitarian action and technology, two fields that are multifaceted and complex.
Design science provides a starting point to navigate the complexities at the intersection between technology and humanitarian action. Grounded in sociotechnical systems and engineering design, I help organisations rethink how technology is developed and implemented.
Tech is not neutral, nor is aid
Design for transformation, rather than fixating on efficiency and automation.
Designing with and not for, designing technology that is appropriate, supports social agency and safeguards human rights.
Bringing together diverse expertise and perspectives, while continuously questioning assumptions and challenging power dynamics.
Supporting You
Technology can be a powerful tool—but only if it’s built with your needs and values in mind. I help humanitarian organisations and tech developers translate jargon and navigate different ways of working. By asking the right questions and challenging assumptions, I work to ensure that both sides understand and respect each other's needs and priorities when developing technology solutions.
The right questions lead to better solutions. I help teams critically examine their assumptions and decision-making processes. Through workshops and training grounded in reflexive practice, we uncover gaps in understanding, work on addressing those gaps and strengthen product design.
With over seven years of experience across the private, nonprofit, and academic sectors—and the last three years deeply immersed in academic research—I bring a multidisciplinary perspective to research and knowledge exchange. Specialised in qualitative research, I also help communicate research insights effectively, ensuring that findings are translated into clear, actionable guidance.
ABOUT ME
With a multidisciplinary background in engineering and development studies, I have worked across sectors at global tech companies like IBM, international NGOs such as the Red Cross and the UN, as well as with social enterprise and grassroots organisations. My experience spans business development, operations management and research across different countries, including Colombia, Australia, the Netherlands and India. This breadth of experience has been particularly valuable when working at the intersection of the private and humanitarian sectors, with a better understanding of how different operational models, funding mechanisms and decision-making processes influence the adoption of technology across diverse contexts.
Currently, as part of my PhD Candidature at RMIT University in Australia, I have been using a Sequential Qualitative Multi-Method Research Design to investigate how emerging technologies are conceptualised, developed and integrated into humanitarian contexts. My current work centres on three key areas:
Beyond Research and practice:
As part of my PhD candidature at RMIT, I have also been actively engaged in teaching and mentoring.
In 2024, I co-coordinated Australia’s largest undergraduate engineering course, with over 1,200 students, reinforcing empathy-driven, collaborative design principles and immersing students in real-world engineering design for humanitarian challenges. In 2025, we are set to introduce over 1,700 students to the foundational knowledge of engineering as part of the largest course across Australian universities.
Affiliations
Recent Presentations
I have presented my work at various international conferences, sharing insights on how engineering and humanitarian action can better align. My contributions aim to challenge conventional approaches and push for transformative technology adoption.
Crisis in the Anthropocene: Rethinking Connection and Agency for Development 28–30 June 2023, University of Reading (UK)
RightsCon: The World’s Leading Summit on Human Rights in the Digital Age 24-27 February 2025, Taipei International Convention Center (Taiwan)
An investigation into the development of emerging technology for humanitarian action and development assistance [in revision]
Together, we can amplify and showcase the impact of your work and contribute to the collective knowledge in this field.
I respectfully acknowledge the Wurundjeri and Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation as the traditional custodians of the land on which I live and work. I honour their enduring contributions to knowledge, science and technology over the past 60,000 years, and recognise that sovereignty was never ceded.
© All Rights Reserved | Juliana Carreno 2025
Together, we can amplify and showcase the impact of your work and enrich the collective knowledge in this field.
