Paper Authors

Abstract

NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract

Main Menu Session 3160

What's in it for me? The whys and wherefores of international exchange programs

José L. Torres College of Staten Island, The City University of New York

Abstract ¾ The globalization of National Economies and the globalization of Engineering Education are concurrent processes that feed back upon each other. This paper discusses the most significant benefits to be derived from a program of international exchange in Engineering Education, from the distinct perspectives of institutions in Industrialized and Developing countries. Careful matching of institutional expectations and outcomes appears to be a critical factor in the success of such ventures.

Index Terms ¾ International Education, Exchange Programs.

Introduction

One of the historic trademarks of the Engineering profession has been its devotion to the never- ending process of personal and institutional self-actualization. The ever-accelerating pace of technological development has declared technological obsolescence to be the Capital Sin of the engineer. But technological advances have also changed the socio-economic context of societies and institutions. Whether we like it or not, at the dawn of the twenty-first century truly the World is at our collective doorsteps.

In this new open environment, engineers have to learn to think globally from the start. The industrial product of today was probably conceived by a Central Office in Vienna, New York or Tokyo, designed by the Engineering Center in Hamburg or Delhi, and built at several plants scattered all over the planet. Most likely using parts design and built half a world away. The true situation in the world has been summarized by the chief executive officer of the General Electric Company as "If you can't meet a world standard, you're not even in the game." [1]

These globalization processes are happening at every field of human endeavor in a parallel fashion. Economic barriers are being torn down, but they were preceded by social segmentation and closely followed by political boundaries. And the Future holds more of the same.

Clearly a 'global outlook' is about become one of the essential tools that engineers need to succeed in their profession, in addition to solid technical skills. What I have called a 'global outlook' is in reality, a combination of skills, including:

Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2002, American Society for Engineering Education

Main Menu

• Citation

• Format
  • APA
  • APA - LaTeX bibitem
  • MLA
  • MLA - LaTeX bibitem
  • Bibtex
  • EndNote - RIS

Torres, J. (2002, June), What's In It For Me? Paper presented at 2002 Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada. 10.18260/1-2--11161