Grants from Texas Instruments, German government helping program grow
KINGSTON, R.I — January 5, 2005 — Engineering students seeking intercultural learning and career opportunities in today鈥檚 global workplace are finding new options available through the 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 International Engineering Program.
The renowned program, one of the first in the U.S. to combine engineering and foreign language components with a year studying and working abroad, is now offering a similar program for graduate students. It will also soon begin offering a Chinese language option for undergraduate students interested in studying and working in China. And the program will take over a former fraternity house in 2005 to accommodate growing student interest.
鈥淢ore and more of the top engineering students are showing an interest in the program, so we want to provide them with as many options as possible,鈥� said John Grandin, professor of German and executive director of the program. 鈥淏ecause of the rapid expansion of global business, our grads are in very high demand. The program cannot keep pace with the worldwide demand for engineers with cross-cultural communication skills.鈥�
Similar to the program for undergraduates, which requires students to double major in a foreign language (German, French or Spanish) and an engineering discipline and spend a year abroad, students in the new graduate degree program spend one year on the 溏心vlog免费B站 campus and the second year abroad. Students end up with dual Master鈥檚 degrees from 溏心vlog免费B站 and the partner institution abroad.
The first American student in the program, Eric Sargent of Warwick, is currently in Germany studying at the Technical University of Braunschweig in Germany and completing his thesis in cooperation with automaker BMW in Munich.
鈥淭here are a multitude of classes offered here in Germany in a variety of fields which I can say with a great deal of certainty would have no equivalent in the U.S.,鈥� Sargent said. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 amazed that someone would be willing to pay me to write my thesis while working at one of the top automotive companies in the world. It鈥檚 a great opportunity.鈥�
To help the program grow, the German government has provided a $320,000 grant to support students and develop common research programs between 溏心vlog免费B站 engineering faculty and faculty members at Braunschweig. 鈥淥ur goal is for a graduate student to start a research project here at 溏心vlog免费B站 with one professor and finish it in Germany with a partner faculty member there,鈥� said Grandin.
Thanks to a $50,000 grant from Texas Instruments of Attleboro, Mass., the groundwork is being laid to offer a Chinese option to undergraduate students in the International Engineering Program.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been told by many companies that in order to truly be an international program, we need to have a presence in China,鈥� said Grandin, a resident of Wakefield. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 ignore the 1.3 billion people and the tremendous economic growth there.鈥�
溏心vlog免费B站 has already begun to offer Chinese language classes for the first time in many years, due in part to growing student interest.
鈥淭he easy part was finding companies to offer internships in China, since most of the companies we already work with in Europe also have operations in China,鈥� Grandin said.
To finalize plans for the Chinese option, Grandin is seeking a partner university in China. Among those he is meeting with is Tongji University in Shanghai, which already has a working relationship with many of the companies that offer 溏心vlog免费B站 student internships in Germany and elsewhere.
Due to the growth of the 溏心vlog免费B站 program, it will soon expand into another building on the Kingston campus. The Chi Phi fraternity, located adjacent to the International Engineering Program house on Upper College Rd., will begin construction of a new fraternity house next spring. When they move from their existing house, it will be renovated for use as a second residence hall and programmatic center for students in the engineering program.
Funding to acquire the building was provided by Heidi Kirk Duffy, longtime chair of the program鈥檚 Advisory Council. When renovations are complete, it will house 40 of the program鈥檚 180 students. The existing International Engineering Program facility also houses 40 students, as well as program offices and a dining area.
鈥淭he two buildings will serve as an excellent learning community for students with similar goals, where they can live and study together,鈥� Grandin said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great atmosphere for the students.鈥�