ASU engineering programs are going global in an attempt to expand both cultural and technological interaction with universities and businesses around the world.
Engineering and business leaders presented globalization plans for ASU during the Global Education in Engineering Studies workshop Thursday morning at the Tempe Mission Palms Hotel in downtown Tempe.
The plans include more internships in foreign countries, study abroad and exchange programs and partnerships with universities abroad.
The workshop, jointly sponsored by ASU and the University of Michigan, also provided breakout sessions during which audience members could interact with speakers and each other in smaller teams.
Leaders from Ford Motor Co. and The Boeing Co. emphasized the need to broaden the education of engineering students.
"I think it's equally important to be technically competent and at the same time possess the type of leadership skills that are demanded in a global environment," said Shamel Rushwin, Ford Motor Co. vice president.
Also speaking at the workshop, ASU President Michael Crow said global exchange of technology and information between the United States and other locations in the world is inevitable.
He added that human beings would have a difficult time abandoning innate tendencies to stay within their own clans.
"Globalization, as a force, moves forward relentlessly," Crow said. "No one understands it. It is, in fact, counterintuitive to human cultural development."
He said ASU must provide quality education to produce culturally aware engineers skilled in business as well as science.
College students also need a broader perspective than their basic engineering education can provide, said Steven Coe, a project manager for The Boeing Co.
He said students studying science and engineering in the United States should get a broader educational background.
"What we find is a lot of graduates in American engineering colleges have not had any experience with cultures other than their own at any depth," Coe said.
American students typically study liberal arts abroad while foreign students come to America to study science and engineering, Coe said.
He added that he advises students to learn about topics outside engineering fields, such as business and the arts.
"It starts with being willing to interact with people outside your own major," he said.
ASU has not had engineering study-abroad trips in the past but will try to provide some opportunities in the next couple of years, said industrial engineering professor Mark Henderson.
He added that recent grants awarded to support cooperation between ASU and Mexico will help fund student exchanges and international internships in the next few years.
Reach the reporter at nicole.saidi@asu.edu.
