Will our graduates be global players?

Journal of Engineering Education, Jul 2003 by Lohmann, Jack R

Providing meaningful international experiences for more of our graduates would both broaden and enrich their education to be global citizens and enable them to be more professionally competitive in the growing global marketplace. We should not continue to overlook such an important aspect in the preparation of our graduates. The consequences of doing so are perhaps best expressed in a recent report from the American Council on Education [2]:

"In the long run, those who can move seamlessly between different nations, cultures, and languages will be positioned to capitalize on the next scientific, technological, or information revolution. Many are already better situated to be dominant global forces in the 21^sup st^ century. In the glow of our current successes, we run the risk ofoverconfidence that could lead the United States to miss out on the next great transformations. We also run the risk of being out of touch with major social, political, and economic revolutions already underway in many parts of the world. If we fail to become effective global citizens, we may cease to be players at all. "

REFERENCES

[1] Borri, Claudio, ''Reshaping the Engineer for the 3^sup rd^ Millennium" Foreword to five papers presented at the 2002 SEFI Annual Conference, "The Renaissance Engineer of Tomorrow," European Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 28, No. 2, June 2003, Foreword, pp. 137-138, Papers, pp. 139-178.

[2] Hayward, Fred M., Intemationalization of U.S. Higher Education: Preliminary Status Report 2000, American Council on Education, Washington, D.C., .

[3] Jones, Russel C., "Preparation of U.S. Engineering Students for International Practice," Proceedings, Enhancement of the Global Perspective for Engineering Students by Providing an International Experience, Tomar, Portugal, 6-11 April 2003, Engineering Conferences International, Inc., New York, New York, USA.

[4] Kedia, Ben L., and Shirley Daniel, "U.S. Business Needs for Employees with International Expertise," Proceedings, Global Challenges and U.S. Higher Education, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, January, 2003, .

[5] Sanoff, Alvin P., "America's Newest Export," Prism, Vol. 12, No. 7, March 2003, pp. 19-23.

[6] Siaya, Laura, Maura Porcelli, and Madeleine Green, "One Year Later: Attitudes About International Education Science September 11," Public Opinion Poll, Center for Institutional and International Initiatives, American Council on Education, Washington, D.C., September 2002, pp. 1-8, .

[7] Soerio, Alfredo, "International Accreditation Activities," Proceedings, Enhancement of the Global Perspective for Engineering Students by Providing an International Experience, Tomar, Portugal, 6-11 April 2003, Engineering Conferences International, Inc., New York, New York, USA.

[8] "Recognition of the Equivalency of Accredited Engineering Education Programs Leading to the Engineering Degree," Washington Accord, .

[9] "The European Higher Education Area," Joint Declaration of the European Ministers of Education, Bologna, Italy, June 18-19, 1999, .