Improving the Global Competency of Graduate Engineers Through Peace Corps Partnership and Long-term International Service

As society addresses the major challenges associated with food, water, energy and climate change there is an increasing need for engineers that are interdisciplinary and globally competent. The Master’s International Program (MIP) at the University of South Florida is a graduate partnership with the U.S. Peace Corps that provides over two years of supervised professional service and international research experiences that include specialized training in language, culture, participatory planning, and sustainable development. The students gain a global perspective while performing research in an international context of economic, social, and environmental limitations. Using a survey tool with quantitative and qualitative metrics, this study assessed the effectiveness of global competency training for engineering students in the MIP at the University of South Florida. Results show that students were able to correlate each stage of the MIP process to the development of core global competencies outlined by the National Research Council needed for global aptitude.