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MODELS ON INDUSTRY AND UNIVERSITY GLOBAL COLLABORATION THROUGH CO-OP AND INTERNSHIPS

Introduction

From industry giants to start-ups; from the U. S. News’ top schools to aspiring institutions of higher education; and from the bastions of engineering education in the U. S. to campuses in all areas of the world, globalization is the mantra being spoken by educators, administrators, and corporate leaders. Author Thomas Friedman brought this to the forefront in his best selling book, The World is Flat, and the topic is constantly being discussed in faculty meetings, curriculum revisions, and new degree programs that are proposed on a daily basis in many nations.

But what makes a curriculum truly global in nature? What is required to say with assurance, “If you earn a degree from our institution, you will have the necessary tools to be a player in the global economy?” Many engineering institutions are locating campuses in countries abroad. Study abroad programs are flourishing and working abroad is growing into a more developed field. Although many of these institutions have had successful cooperative education and internship programs in the past, including various international opportunities for students, many believe that work experience needs to be more global in nature and more immersive in practice. In 2005, Continental AG, based in Hanover, Germany, sought to answer these questions. Through cooperation with several respected educational institutions, an exhaustive study was performed in an attempt to structure a program that would produce engineers prepared to work at the highest level in a global environment. Those schools include: Technical University of Darmstadt, ETH (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) Zurich, Switzerland, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the Georgia Institute of Technology, both in the U.S.A., the University of São Paulo, Brazil, as well as Jiao Tong University and Tsinghua University, both in China. The entire report may be viewed at: http://www.global-engineering-excellence.org/. There is also a link to this specific initiative, the Global Engineering Internship Program (GEIP).

To accomplish this ultimate goal of quality global preparation of engineering students throughout the world, the Global Engineering Internship Program (GEIP) seeks to:

1. Establish a global network of students, universities and companies 2. Define areas of knowledge, skills, and attitudes for a globally competent engineer 3. Offer globally-oriented international internships with mentoring by industry 4. Offer an educational infrastructure before, during, and after the internship by universities 5. Assess the academic infrastructure, internship environment, and student learning outcomes and provide a feedback mechanism for quality enhancement 6. Perform research on how to instill global competence in engineering education.

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Akins, T., & Gulick, D. D., & Lohmann, J. (2008, June), Models On Industry And University Global Collaboration Through Co Op And Internships Paper presented at 2008 Annual Conference & Exposition, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 10.18260/1-2--4438