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Session 2078

Study Abroad: Preparing Engineering Students for Success in the Global Economy

Marianne Machotka*, Susannah Spodek** University of Wisconsin-Madison*/ Institute of International Education**

“International education prepares our citizens to live, work, and compete in the global economy, and promotes tolerance and the reduction of conflict.” – Secretary Colin L. Powell

“For me it’s really important that we do what we can to get more young Americans, particularly engineers to go abroad.” – D. Howard Pierce, President & CEO, ABB, Inc.

Abstract

Leading officials of educational institutions, government agencies, and/or multi-national corporations often extol the benefits of study abroad exchanges for both the students and the institutions that are involved. While this is certainly laudable, in order for an exchange to be successful, there are a myriad of details that must be handled correctly. The better prepared the student and the institutions are, the better the experience will be.

Academic matters, logistics such as visas, and important cross-cultural awareness issues are key components to an engineering student’s preparation for studying overseas. In this paper, these details are reviewed by professionals with many years experience involving hundreds of US engineering students who have participated in engineering study abroad programs.

I. Introduction

During the 1999-2000 academic year, 143,590 American students studied abroad. Of that number, just 4,139, or 2.9% were engineering majors.1 Although this represents a 1 % increase over the last few years, it is still a remarkably low number. Historically, study abroad programs were designed for students to acquire or hone foreign language skills as well as gain cultural understanding. For students of liberal studies the credit earned overseas often fulfilled graduation requirements. Because the curricula at engineering programs in United States (US) institutions require few liberal studies and foreign language requirements, studying abroad was regarded as an interruption in an engineering student’s education. In recent years many US institutions with engineering programs have created exchange, or study abroad agreements with overseas engineering institutions. This has led to an increase in participation (in study abroad programs) among engineering students, however, the US remains far behind its international counterparts with respect to the quantity and quality of international education for engineering students.

The following criteria, among the ABET criteria for accrediting engineering programs, are skills that are directly enhanced by participation in study abroad:

“Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright Ó 2002, American Society for Engineering Education”

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Spodek, S., & Machotka, M., & Mook, D. J. (2002, June), Study Abroad: Preparing Engineering Students For Success In The Global Economy Paper presented at 2002 Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada. 10.18260/1-2--10701