18 th Annual Colloquium on International Engineering Education, Nov. 5-6, 2015 in NYC

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1 18 th Annual Colloquium on International Engineering Education, Nov. 5-6, 2015 in NYC Adding value through transformative initiatives within the International Engineering Program s academic partnerships Sigrid Berka, Executive Director, Silke Scholz, Assistant Director International Engineering Program University of Rhode Island (URI)

2 INTERNATIONAL URI - A MODEL THAT WORKS 5-year dual degree program B.S. in an engineering discipline B.A. in foreign language Chinese, French, German, Italian, Spanish Semester study abroad 6-month paid internship abroad

3 SENIOR YEAR: SEMESTER ABROAD AT A PARTNER UNIVERSITY China - Zhejiang University France - Université de Technologie de Compiègne Germany - Technische Universität Braunschweig Mexico - ITESM Monterrey & Toluca Campuses Spain - Universidades de Zaragoza, Navarra, & Cantabria Italy - Universidad de Calabria Chile - Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

4 Payam finished the MCE masters program at URI in 2014 He received offer from German drive line technology company ZF and from the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Washington, D.C. where he now works. Senior Year: Six-month Internship Abroad IEP MCE/German undergraduate Payam Fahr working on the formula 1 race car in the TU Braunschweig Lion's Racing Club during his first 6 months abroad at TU-BS. Also research at Institute for Vehicle Technology Payam subsequently did his internship with BMW in a dream assignment - helping to prep the BMW mini for races; his mentor was a 3x mountain race champion.

5 TRANSFORMATIVE INITIATIVES I (SIGRID) Dual master/mba degree programs Undergraduate Research integrated into Study Semester at TU Braunschweig Joint grant applications / Joint teaching Curricular Consulting Continued Graduate Education after Undergraduate Exchange

6 30 Transforming the bilateral exchange model over 600 exchanges through URI/TU Braunschweig dual degree URI to TU-BS TU-BS to URI 5 0

7 THE FINANCIAL MODEL Undergraduates in exchange for Graduate students URI undergrads pay instate tuition for Fall semester at URI TU-BS students pay 1500 Euros program fee to finance URI student summer immersion course 2 URI undergrads at TU-BS in WS in exchange for 1 TU-BS student at URI for one academic year to pursue dual master or MBA in a year + a summer TU-BS master students enroll for 1 summer credit at URI to write thesis MBA students pay in-state for the summer term and the credit overload for fall and spring Usually URI students allow for TU-BS students to use free semester slots If TU-BS students come in excess of the exchange balance they pay instate instead of out-of-state tuition (students covered by a stipend are counted as excess of balance)

8 BENEFITS FOR BOTH INSTITUTIONS Benefits for URI undergrads: Direct Enrollment yet tailored/sheltered program Language courses geared towards engineering students Free summer immersion language course with expeditions Excellent service (pick-up from airport/move in help provided by IO; help with visas, work permits, health insurance etc. ) Excellent mentoring (Patenprogramm) For top students research opportunities in TU-BS labs

9 RESEARCH PROJECTS LEADING TO INTERNSHIP EX.: B.S. CHEMICAL ENG. (PHARMACEUTICAL TRACK) & B.A. IN GERMAN Fall Research in URI lab on use of emulsion templating as a method for producing new lithium ion battery anodes from novel materials Fall 2014 Spring/Sum mer 2015 Research in TU-BS Institute for Chemical & Thermal Processing Technology; liquid chromatography, created a model to simulate chromatographic separation. 6 month internship at Bayer, Leverkusen, Germany implementing new methods in chemical catalysis into lab, analyze results, recommend changes Dual masters in Chemical-Pharmaceutical Engineering TU-BS/URI With joint advisors in the same TU-BS institute

10 BENEFITS FOR BOTH INSTITUTIONS Benefits for TU-BS students: Dual degree from a German & an American institution Almost tuition free academic year abroad Excellent supervision/guidance by URI faculty in a small College of Engineering / MBA program Transparent and feasible dual degree program structure (sample curricula and credit transfer schemes for all participating schools) Big number of exchange slots and participating disciplines Wide variety of options for participating students: Graduate program at TU Braunschweig: Wirtschaftsingenieurwesen/Bau Options at URI add value to German degree: M.Sc. in Civil Engineering M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering M.Sc. in Ocean Engineering MBA

11 BENEFITS AND ADDED VALUE FOR BOTH Ideal Marketing Tool Through the dual degree program URI can compete with the strongest partners in the area and nation-wide in attracting engineering students with a humanistic inclination TU Braunschweig attracts strong students from other TU9 universities Alleinstellungsmerkmal (unique selling proposition) Succesful joint grant proposals (Atlantis, NSF PIRE; NSF specific (Civil/Ocean geotechnical) Newly established graduate programs can easily participate by adopting the program and credit transfer scheme, which opens up new perspectives for the future development of the institutional co-operation

12 JOINT NSF-PARTNERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH AND EDUCATION (NSF-PIRE) GRANT IN MICROFLUIDICS TECHNOLOGIES AND APPLICATIONS 2.5 million NSF-PIRE grant to URI to foster international research and education in collaboration with the TUniversität Braunschweig in point-of-care diagnostics EDUCATIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Developed multinational and multidisciplinary vertical teams including faculty, postdocs, graduate and undergraduate students to internationalize engineering education at graduate level Preparation for global Career RESEARCH ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Developed a prototype lab-on-a-chip device for detecting disease biomarkers Capitalized on complementary research strengths to create innovative discoveries Developed microfluidic-based ocean applications

13 EDUCATIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS Impacted other curricula at URI and at TU Braunschweig to explore multidisciplinary dual degree concept (Business, Computer Science, Pharmacy) Offered a model for other institutions of higher education to adopt Enhanced the development of students through mentoring and career development Provided graduate students with multidisciplinary and international research experiences to increase their abilities to compete in global market

14 RESEARCH ACCOMPLISHMENTS Capitalized on complementary research strengths to create innovative discoveries Teamed across disciplines of engineering, chemistry and biology at URI to collaborate with partners at TU Braunschweig to conduct research in microfluidics technologies and applications for point-of-care diagnostics Developed a prototype lab-on-a-chip device for detecting disease biomarkers Developed microfluidic-based ocean applications

15 CONTINUED EDUCATION/ FACULTY EXCHANGE/ COLLABORATION URI/TU-BS dual master recipients stayed as doctoral candidates at TU-Braunschweig URI French IEP grads went on to Ph.D program at Université de Technologie de Compiègne Zhejiang University 3+x dual B.S./M.S. grads stayed on for PhDs at URI TU-BS/URI dual masters came back as PostDocs to URI (Ocean Eng.) TU-BS dual masters came back to help run the summer URI International Engineering Academy Univ. of Zaragoza exchange student helps URI faculty with Career Tech Academy in Providence URI/TUBS Dual degree grads help with IEP internship placements Faculty exchange URI faculty teach at TU Braunschweig or Zhejiang Univ. during sabbaticals TU-BS faculty named Adjunct Professor at URI teaching hybrid courses (Industrial Eng.) Future Bio-Pharmaceutical dual degree URI/TU-BS planned as institutions leverage new funding and priorities Curricular Consulting by URI OCE faculty to build Ocean College at Zhejiang University

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17 WORDS FROM STUDENTS RETURNING FROM THEIR YEAR ABROAD This year has changed me completely. This year abroad changed my life. the most memorable experience in my life so far. was eye-opening. I have become a better version of myself. I am a better person now. Transformation of students who were abroad

18 THE VALUE OF TRANSFORMATIVE INITIATIVES IN OUR PROGRAM Transformative Initiatives create new opportunities for studies, research, internships build a strong community: not only exchange of services but collaborative approach of partnering institutions enhance the global network of the students

19 INITIATIVES WITH OUR PARTNER UNIVERSITY PUCV IN CHILE J-Term 7 students, 4 engineering disciplines 16-day study-abroad experience: Civil engineering course taught by URI Professor at PUCV facilities Joint teaching with Professor and Assistant Dean of School of Engineering at PUCV Sightseeing and cultural events organized by PUCV Field trip to Chilean Sustainability Expert Language and cross-cultural experiences Amazing experience for students who have never travelled to South America Mini-Study-Abroad experience as a glimpse of the 4 th year in the IEP

20 INITIATIVES WITH OUR PARTNER UNIVERSITIES Language immersion programs Research projects during the semester abroad 6 month research projects at partner universities offered on a full-time basis after the semester abroad J-Term opportunities

21 SUCCESS STORY IEP STUDENT: CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AND SPANISH How a student can pursue his professional goals internationally through transformative initiatives in education 2015: Internship in Chile at BASF: Working on two Waste Water Projects Spring 2014: Sustainability Project and research with URI Professor for project in Guatemala Fall 2014: Research sustainability project with PUCV Professor during semester abroad in Chile

22 TRANSFORMATIVE INITIATIVES IN OUR LIVING AND LEARNING COMMUNITY 20 students of the 74 living in the IEP houses are international exchange students: from Spain, Germany, Chile, China, France, and Puerto Rico (from partner universities) IEP students learn from exchange students: language, culture, about their university and make friends Introducing language-specific floors to support conversations in the target language Working with language mentors who motivate their fellow students Hosting of weekly Conversation Hours in our houses covering: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish

23 Personal transformation can and does have global effects. As we go, so goes the world, for the world is us. The revolution that will save the world is ultimately a personal one. Marianne Williamson