Providing international experiences for US engineering students-it can be done!

Abstract

This panel willpresent three dvferent models of international engineering opportunities. Each of fhese universifies -Boston University. Chiversify ofRhode Island and Worcester Polytechnic Institute -has developed international opportunitiesfor undergraduate engineers that work within their respective curricula and offer an enhanced education 10 srudents who take advantage of the opportunities offered. This session will provide an understanding ofthe managemenf and logistical structure of each program, and how iffits into fhe respective curricula. Refurned studentsfrom each oftheprograms will be present as well.Index Terms -Global opporrunities for engineering students, international engineering education. BOSTON U m m DRESDEN ENGINEERING & SCIENCEPROGRAMThe Boston University Dresden Engineering and Science Program is designed for engineering students who wish to combine engineering course work in English with the study of German. It is further designed to fit neatly into engineering students' existing curriculum and requirements. ARer completing the intensive German-language and cultural-immersion course, engineering students will choose three out of five courses at Technische Universitat Dresden (TUD): Differential Equations, Electric Circuit Theory, Waves and Modern Physics, Principles of Biology and Linear Algebra. Students also take "The Social Nature of Technology". Boston University's College of Engineering approves all of these courses taught in English. Students also participate in field trips to research institutions, technical museums, and companies to offer insight into the history, the present, and the future of engineering technologies. German faculty teaches all courses. Upon successful completion of a semester, students earn 15 to 20 Boston University credits. This program is offered the spring semester only. UNIVERSlTY OF RHODE ISLAND'S I " A T I 0 N A L ENGINEERING PROGRAMThe International Engineering Program (IEP) is a distinctive academic program of the University of Rhode Island, which leads students to degrees in both engineering (B.S.) and a foreign language (B.A. in German, French or Spanish.) IEP students study language and culture each semester along with their engineering curriculum. In the fourth year of the five-year program, students complete a six-month internship with an engineering-based firm in Europe or Latin America.The majority of IEP students now precede this international internship as an exchange student at one of our partner universities, where they complete engineering and humanities course work in the target language. IEP students graduate with an excellent engineering background, with fluency in at least one language other than English, with strong cross-cultural communication skills, and with concrete engineering work experience under their belts. As of the May 2001, 162 students were enrolled in the program, with 109 in the flagship German program, 25 in the French program, and 28 in the Spanish programand the program continues to grow. Amazingly, 20% of all College of...