A Case Study Assessing Program Outcomes of an International Research Collaboration Between the US and Germany: Developing Students As Global Engineers

An International research collaboration between researchers in US and Germany was conceived to provide teams of graduate and undergraduate students in the US, the opportunity to conduct collaborative research with scientists from the Germany, both in the US and in Germany. The program takes place over a period of two academic semesters and involves extensive pre-trip preparations, ten weeks conducting research internationally in various areas of Aerospace research, and the option for research continuation upon return. Outside of research, the students promote international engineering through outreach. This work reports a case study on the technical, professional, and global impacts of this unique program and assessment of the program itself. Experiences gained at both their home and partner institutions improved the students' research, professional, and global skills measured through publication outcomes, surveys, and propensity for pursuing higher degrees. Upon completion of the program, students were found to be influenced by their experiences to pursue higher degrees than originally intended. The students also perceived that the program had helped in improving their technical, professional, and global skills as engineers. Based on the survey results and the students' final reports it was observed that these improvements were attributed by leveraging world-class facilities and scientific mentorship in both countries. It was also found that formalizing extensive pre-trip activities prior to research abroad improved participant outcomes. The findings support the conclusion that exposing undergraduate and graduate students to the challenges of an international research environment has impacts that carry on to the future workplace.