Increasing Enginering Student Participation in Study Abroad: A Study of U.S. and European Programs

Abstract

It is generally assumed that undergraduate students in any major benefit significantly from study abroad, with respect to personal, academic, and pre-professional development. For students in all professional programs, and for engineering students in particular, it has become increasingly important to acquire global competency. As nations become more economically interdependent, the engineering profession increasingly involves international bids and projects, demands interaction with international colleagues because of rapid advances in technological developments, and requires engineers to gain an awareness of world events and the global economy as well as acquire intercultural under-standing. However, engineering graduates generally do not have the necessary skills to work in an international environment, as few engineering students gain international experience by either studying or interning abroad as part of their education. Engineering students encounter a number of barriers preventing them from taking advantage of international study. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of and compare the types of initiatives in the United States and Europe designed to increase the numbers of engineering students participating in international study, and to present recommendations to remove the barers to study abroad encountered by engineering students. The authors are aware that international experience as part of an engineering undergraduate education is a matter of great concern, and that a number of actions are being implemented to facilitate increased mobility. This paper contributes to these current and future initiatives.

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