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Session 3148

A French - American Collaboration in Engineering and Technology Education

Wayne Hager, Richard Devon The Pennsylvania State University

Jacques Lesenne, Dominique Saintive The Université d’Artois at Bethune

Abstract: With the globalization of the economy, it is becoming increasingly important for engineering and technology graduates to have international and cultural opportunities and experiences as part of their undergraduate curricula. This paper reports on the value of using a multi-faceted collaboration to generate relevant, diverse, and cost effective experiences for faculty and students. And, while many opportunities exist for engineering students, only a few are currently available for technology students and faculty. We have built a collaboration that provides opportunities for both. Further, we will even report on a project that was both international and between engineering and technology students.

Over the past five years, a collaboration has developed between the Penn State School of Engineering Technology and Commonwealth Engineering (SETCE) and the Institut Universitaire Technologie (IUT) on the Béthune campus of the Université d’Artois in northern France. It now includes faculty exchanges, student exchanges, short term student industrial placements, joint conferences, seminars and, most recently, joint team projects1. Many of these activities utilize videoconferencing and other electronic technologies, which are critical to the goal of having cost- effective programs. The symbiotic relationships among the different facets of the collaboration have proven very beneficial as each new activity is supported and enriched by elements of the previous activities.

Rationale for Internationalization of the Curricula: The world is changing in fundamental ways, and as educators we must be responsive to these changes. We are moving rapidly into a networked society, in which old and familiar institutions are losing their power, including the nation state itself2. Furthermore, the economy is more and more based on information3 and services4. Almost all the major corporations have now dispersed their operations around the world.

The corporate organization is being flattened and powers dispersed. Employees at all levels are becoming more empowered. Relationships are increasingly functional and lateral rather than institutional and hierarchical, and they may involve employees located around the globe. In engineering, time to market is becoming the primary driving force and solutions to problems are

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Hager, W., & Lesenne, J., & Saintive, D., & Devon, R. (1998, June), A French American Collaboration In Engineering And Technology Education Paper presented at 1998 Annual Conference, Seattle, Washington. 10.18260/1-2--7137