Introduction to German Engineering. A Transatlantic Experience

Numerous universities provide semesteror year-long overseas educational experiences for undergraduate students. However, few provide intensive short experiences focused on introducing engineering students to the differences in process design, industry, and culture. This paper presents a unique opportunity for US students to participate in an award-winning introductory engineering design process course in Germany. First, the US rising sophomore engineering students joined second-semester freshman German engineering students in a weeklong design project in Germany. American students learned that the German design method is a well defined procedure, leading to the best engineered product or process. While the American method generally tends to be more rapid to market, frequently with improvements made after production begins. Then the US students toured ACHEMA 2012 in Frankfurt, Germany, as well as numerous large industrial facilities to explore commonalities and differences between the two countries’ industries and traditions. Finally, the US students participated in guided tours of German historical and cultural sites. The initial offering of this short-term introduction to German Engineering was very well received by the US engineering students, and is providing a spring-board for these students to pursue subsequent longer and more in-depth experiences abroad. Background and Overview The Mechanical Engineering departments at Virginia Tech (VT; Blacksburg, VA, USA) and the Technical University Darmstadt (TUD; Darmstadt, Germany) have since 2007 offered a transatlantic dual-BSME degree program in which the German students spend their senior year (3 year) at VT while the US students spend their senior year (4th year) at TUD. Upon successful completion, the students earn both a US and a German BSME degree. Thus far, 24 US and 22 German students have participated in this program, and 17 more students are expected to exchange during 2013-2014. The South Dakota School of Mines (SDSMT; Rapid City, SD, USA) offers its students a European Project Semester (EPS; Kiel, Germany; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Trondheim, Norway) with a focus on engineering product design. As a way to introduce US students to differences in engineering process and product design, and to encourage increased numbers of students to consider pursuing an extended overseas experience, the authors collaborated on a shorter, intensive experience. The cornerstone of this three-week exposure abroad is an award-winning multi-disciplinary one-week design course offered within the Mechanical Engineering Department at TUD. This one-week TUD design P ge 23826.2 course, led by one of the authors, has recently been expanded to involve nearly all of the different disciplines within the TUD, thus making it a truly multidisciplinary experience. Another objective of this course was to provide an opportunity for USA engineering students sample what it would be like to study abroad, through a short experience. The premise is that this experience will encourage students to seriously pursue longer term studies abroad, who might not have otherwise considered overseas educational opportunities. The student participants (both German and American) in last year’s, and this coming summer’s course, will be tracked longitudinally for study abroad experiences, while contrasting this with their class peers, who did not participate. In June 2012, six American engineering students from two engineering universities and one American professor crossed the Atlantic to take part in an intercultural experience with German first-year engineering students, faculty, industry, and history. The participating students included 5 Mechanical Engineering students and 1 Materials Engineering student. Their approximate three week stay was well-received and developed into a rich intercultural experience, not only for the American students, but also the German student team members. Students arrived on a Sunday and settled into youth hostel accommodations. The next morning the design project was introduced to both German and American students. Teams were formed and each group spent the entire week working to develop a solution to the design problem. It should be noted that the American student’s spring semester was already over, but the German student’s summer semester was still in session, requiring the German engineering students to basically take a week away from their lecture course work. At the end of the week, each team presented their solution to the rest of the class members and a team of industrial and academic judges. During the second week, the American students and selected German students were given guided tours of the ACHEMA 2012 exhibition in Frankfurt, Germany. Access was generously provided by the DECHEMA organization. At the end of the week, students traveled to München to tour the BMW world headquarters. The final week included industrial tours of Audi in Ingolstadt and the former Hoechst site near Frankfurt. During the weekends, interspersed throughout the three weeks, and during some of the evenings, the American students were exposed to the cultural and historical side of Germany.