Conference Session

Engineering Education in India, Central and Eastern Asia

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Xia Wang, Oakland University; Gary Barber, Oakland University; Laila Guessous, Oakland University; LianXiang Yang, Oakland University; GuangZhi Qu, Oakland University; Ishwar Sethi, Oakland University

Tagged Divisions

International

AC 2009-1282: INTERNATIONAL LEARNING EXPERIENCE IN CHINA FORENGINEERING STUDENTS AT OAKLAND UNIVERSITYXia Wang, Oakland University XIA WANG (wang@oakland.edu) is an assistant professor in the department of Mechanical Engineering at Oakland University. Her research and teaching interests lie in the areas of fluid mechanics and heat transfer, with an emphasis on fuel cell technology. She is the faculty coordinator of the 2008 OU SECS trip to China.Gary Barber, Oakland University GARY BARBER (barber@oakland.edu) is the chair of the Mechanical Engineering Department at Oakland University. His research and teaching interests lie in the area of tribology. He is the co-faculty coordinator of the

Conference Session

International Study Abroad Programs

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William Hornfeck, Lafayette College; Antonia Gohr, Jacobs University Bremen

Tagged Divisions

International

regarding the significant difference in tuition fees between US andEuropean private universities. A modest beginning or pilot program, however, would most likelyserve as an appropriate first step.Students have expressed a desire for a choice of at least two possible faculty-led study abroadprograms. Indeed, two smaller groups would probably be a better experience for Americanstudents abroad. In this regard, Lafayette College is continuing to explore possibilities foralternate study abroad sites. As mentioned earlier in this paper, this is not a problem that is easilysolved. In addition, the desire on the part of Lafayette would be to offer choices that wouldenroll a roughly equal numbers of students. An effort is underway to diversify the

Conference Session

Global Engineering Education: Intercultural Awareness and International Experience

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Aparajita Mazumder, Formerly Director of International Relations

Tagged Divisions

International

campus.Education in an international institution, laboratory or industry, studying /working alongsideglobal teams of scientists, engineers, industrialists, fellow students, transforms “an engineer” into“a global engineer.”Through the years, students have voiced how international projects havedeveloped their global skill sets and how they “grew as engineers.” In Chile, a University ofIllinois Civil Engineering student as early as 1993 with team members from Centro de AsistenciaTecnica (CAT) made a trip to an open pit copper mine in Copiapo. He was working alongsideChileans pouring concrete cylinders and conducting slump tests and at the same timeexperiencing a joint venture between Bektel and the Chilean government. To him, it was a lessonin life that