WASHINGTON, D.C. – A work abroad experience can potentially be an invaluable asset for STEM students in the global economy, but institutional leaders must spend time and resources to structure the experience in a way that achieves measurable results.
That was one of the key insights offered Thursday at the start of a two-day workshop titled “Creating Globally Minded STEM Professionals Through Internships/Work Abroad Programs.”
The workshop—hosted by the Institute of International Education—drew dozens of higher education professionals seeking ways to develop programs that provide students with an international perspective on professions they can access through their chosen field of study.
Attendees got an entrée of examples during a panel discussion on existing successful models.
At the University of Rhode Island, officials have developed a global engineering program that sends 25 percent of the university’s engineering students abroad—several times the 3.9 percent of U.S. engineering students nationally that go abroad.
The five-year program provides students foreign language instruction in order to prepare them to work abroad for one year. The program offers two degrees: one in engineering and one in a foreign language.
“We’ve found that the best and brightest students are interested in this model,” said Dr. Sigrid Berka, executive director of the International Engineering Program at URI and director of the German and Chinese IEP at the school.
