Freshman Program To Germany: An Introduction To German Engineering

Many exchange programs within engineering have suffered from low participation rates in the past. The reasons for this have been multi-faceted, but include such factors as lack of language skills, price of programs, concern over time-to-degree, curricular challenges and fear of the unknown. The University of Kentucky (UK) College of Engineering has developed a program designed for freshmen and possibly sophomore engineering students, which addresses some of these concerns. Beginning in 2007, the College of Engineering took a group of students to Germany for a four-week, intensive Calculus III program that included a German Engineering component. Students stayed with English-speaking host families and completed their coursework in English. The Calculus III class is part of the engineering students’ core curriculum, and fits well into the sequence as a summer class after the freshman year. The German Engineering component, through which students earned two hours of credit, consisted of company visits and discussions with engineers and business leaders. Following completion of the program, a post-experience survey confirmed that the students would be more willing to work or study abroad in the future, and that they felt more internationally competent and ready to interact with people from other countries and cultures. Students also reported a higher awareness of how other people view them. Three of the eight participants who had no prior German language skills enrolled in German 101 after the tour. The University Landscape U.S. universities still struggle with the education of globally competent engineers, some universities more so than others. The University of Kentucky is located in one of the states that is considered to lag behind when it comes to primary, secondary and tertiary education. Thus, for a University in a state that has trouble preparing students for College, the challenge to educate students for the global marketplace seems even more daunting than elsewhere. The University of Kentucky is the largest higher education institution in the state, currently with about 27,000 students. Over 80 percent of the student population is “in-state.” However, as of 2006, the state had the lowest percentage of Bachelor’s or higher degrees in the nation, with 20.2 percent of the population 25 years and older, according to Census Bureau estimates for 2006. In 2007, the College conferred 337 undergraduate degrees. Engineering suffers from very high attrition rates, and ranks second highest among the sixteen colleges at the University. Only 31 percent of students who start in engineering obtain an engineering degree within six years. There are many reasons for the high attrition rate in engineering, such as: (1) a more stringent curriculum that requires a solid basis in sciences and math; (2) lack of spare time for extracurricular and social activities, (3) lack of hands-on engineering projects in students’ first P ge 13628.2 year of study; (4) the many distractions (both for work and enjoyment) afforded by a city of approximately 200,000; and, (5) until the Fall 2007 intake, a policy of admitting students into Engineering with only standardized test scores necessary for admission into the University. In the past year, the College has tried to improve retention by admitting students more selectively (i.e. a higher ACT Math score is required to enter engineering as a freshman), and offering a Calculus I course taught especially for engineering students, in order to better demonstrate the applications of math in Engineering. The short-term study abroad program, Calculus III in Germany, discussed in this paper also gives students something to work towards in their freshman year, since students have to successfully complete Calculus I and II in order to participate. Last year, the College has not had to limit participation in this program, since there were more spots available than participants. If selection criteria have to be applied, students with prior German language ability (high school or college) will be given preference over students who do not know German. With consideration for program logistics and optimum learning outcomes in Calculus III, fifteen is considered to be the maximum course size for each cohort. Besides retention issues, a reason for the tour was also that the College of Engineering has been strengthening its German Engineering Program over the past two years. The German Engineering Program at the University of Kentucky is not a degree program, but rather is a program designed to send more engineering students abroad for work, study or summer courses in order to increase their exposure to German culture, language, business and engineering. The state is home to over 50 German-own+ed companies, many of which are automotive suppliers. German companies are the second largest foreign investor in the state (Japan ranks first, with Toyota Motor Manufacturing as the largest by far); therefore, there is a significant German influence in the state’s business and engineering landscape. As future engineers, graduates will very likely have to interact with engineers and business people from other countries, at home and abroad. Immersing students early into an international environment will help prepare them for this. Besides the German Engineering Program, University of Kentucky engineering students have structured study-abroad opportunities in Malaysia, Japan, and China, with the number of openings now far exceeding the current demand. Also in 2007, a semester-long exchange program with the University of Karlsruhe (a university in southern Germany which mirrors the University of Kentucky in terms of its engineering programs in many respects) has been established, and the College is working on more international work opportunities for engineering students. The lack of language preparation and also the lack of motivation to go abroad for long-term programs have limited the success of these programs so far. Offering a short-term program, in the same city as the semester-long exchange program, is a way to introduce students to study abroad and to foreign-owned engineering companies. During the tour, students live with families in Karlsruhe. Through the short-term program, students are also exposed to the language and might be encouraged to take German after their return. Offering a summer program allows those students to participate in international programs who otherwise would think that their curriculum does not allow for a semester or year abroad. The semester-long exchange program is available to students who have missed the opportunity to participate in Calculus III in Germany, as well as to students who did participate in the shortPage 13628.3 term program. To date, only a few students have studied a full semester at Karlsruhe, mainly in Materials Engineering. The Calculus III Tour to Germany – Curriculum The Calculus III tour to Germany is designed for rising sophomores, since the majority of engineering students at UK start by taking Calculus I in their first semester. In the spring, their second semester, students take Calculus II, and are then eligible to take Calculus III, either in the fall of their sophomore year or during the summer after their freshman year. 2007 was the first summer in which the College offered this tour, and nine students signed up to participate. In 2008, the College will limit participation to approximately fifteen students, and there currently (as of January 2008) is a short waitlist for the program. In 2007, students spent four weeks in Karlsruhe, Germany. The University of Karlsruhe was one of only three German universities that were awarded recently the title of “Elite University” in a nationwide competition. The tour was priced at $2307, which included housing and meals with the families, transportation within Germany, a weekend trip to Munich, health insurance, faculty salary and lodging, as well as tuition, but not the flight to Germany.