Engineers encouraged to study abroad

A major concern for students considering participation in a study abroad program is how to coordinate time away from Vanderbilt into their course schedule. For students in the School of Engineering, this can be especially difficult due to the rigidly prescribed curriculum they must follow.

The School of Engineering has added new programs and information sessions in an effort to increase the number of its students studying abroad. Demanding major hours and a rigid course load full of prerequisites are common study abroad obstacles that engineering administrators believe can be combated by careful, early planning.

"It is such a global economy, engineers need to be aware of working with other cultures. They need to know what engineering is like in another country because they are likely to interact with foreign engineers," said Stacy Klein, associate dean for outreach, who has been working for the past year and half to increase abroad opportunities for engineers. Klein said the school is offering information sessions to help students begin planning early on.

"We are trying to provide some early and good advice," Klein said. "We offer an info session for engineers only, at the beginning of each semester to let them know when they can study abroad and where ... and then we sit down with students individually and in advance work out a four-year plan."

Associate Professor of Civil Engineering Gene LeBoeuf said planning is essential for engineers who want to study abroad because of the heavy course load that is based on prerequisites.

LeBoeuf said one of the biggest challenges civil engineers face when studying abroad is completing the required design course, usually taken spring of junior year, a popular time for students to go abroad.

"Our design class follows U.S. building codes, design practices are often different when students study abroad," said LeBoeuf.

Despite these differences, the School of Engineering has been able to find a number of universities abroad with comparable engineering classes.

"In New Zealand and Australia, we have identified a number of courses that are transferable to Vanderbilt if not equivalent," LeBoeuf said. Other countries where engineers are encouraged to study abroad because of similar programs and classes include Canada, China, England, North Ireland, Scotland and South Africa. Recently, the School of Engineering has added new study abroad options in Germany and France.

"We are just starting to see the fruits or our labor. A lot more kids are applying," Klein said. Over the 2007-2008 academic year, a total of 44 engineers studied abroad either during the fall or spring semester, over the summer or through a Maymester program, an increase from the previous year when 29 engineers went abroad.

"The programs are growing, but not as fast as I would like," Klein said.

This year the Australia Vanderbilt Initiative for Scholarship and Global Engagement site, which had a focus on sustainability and water conservation and was geared toward engineers, was cancelled due to a lack of interest. The site, which requires at least 10 participants to be financially viable, had only four applicants. LeBoeuf, faculty director of the Australia site, said he was disappointed.

"We marketed pretty well ... (but) this year there just wasn't a general interest in sustainability in Australia," LeBoeuf said. "We are exploring other opportunities in terms of VISAGE and the school of engineering. ... It's a matter of how we make this best fit for the students in the school of engineering."

Jessica Newton, a senior in the school of engineering and participant in the Australia VISAGE program last year, said she thought there was a lot of enthusiasm for the program and hope for improvements this year.

"I know there was so much talk in improving the program," said Newton, who also said she understands the lack of interest in the program this year. "The subject (of VISAGE Australia) is civil engineering, which is a very packed curriculum. Maybe students can't afford to put in the extra hours."

Whichever type of program students want to pursue, LeBoeuf stressed that students need to plan ahead.

"Students need to be proactive early on so they can identify courses they need and can look at courses coming up to help facilitate their schedule," he said.