The School of Engineering was recently approved for membership in the Global Engineering Education Exchange (Global E3). Global E3 provides American students the opportunity to take for-credit college coursework at an overseas partner institution located in one of 17 participating countries, and for international students at partner campuses to study at participating institutions in the United States. Students earn their course credit from, and pay their tuition to, their home institutions, but are responsible for their own airfare, housing, and any added costs related to study abroad.
Through Global E3, engineering and computer science students at member institutions can study abroad for a semester, two semesters or a combination of one semester of study plus one semester in an industrial internship. The Global E3 program aims to immerse students in foreign universities where they gain the necessary foreign language abilities, cross-cultural skills, and professional experience to excel in the multinational/multicultural business environment of the 21st century.
Dean Mun Choi hailed the program, saying membership in the Global E3 consortium will provide UConn engineering undergraduates a greater number of convenient study-abroad opportunities while simultaneously enabling the School to attract a greater number of foreign students. Many study-abroad programs require a one-for-one exchange of students between the two universities – a format that may hinder American students from engaging in international study if they lack familiarity with the language of a partnering institution. By participating in the Global E3 program, a greater number of UConn engineering students may engage in study abroad without being bound by one-for-one restrictions.
UConn engineering students will be able to study at participating universities in Australia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Turkey and the United Kingdom – all of which offer courses presented in English. Students may also engage in study abroad at participating universities where courses are taught in the native language in Austria and Germany (German), France (French), Italy (Italian), Mexico and Spain (Spanish), and Sweden (Swedish).
The program is available to students beginning with the spring ’09 term. Within the School of Engineering, the program will be overseen by Dr. Reda Ammar, Department Head of Computer Science & Engineering, and Marty Wood, Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Education. For details, please contact Dr. Ammar at reda@engr.uconn.edu or by phone at (860) 486-5285; and Mr. Wood at marty@engr.uconn.edu or by phone at (860) 486- 2167.
