Impact of International Collaboration on the Learning Environment

1. Impact of International Collaboration on the Learning Environment Amir W. Al-Khafaji Krishnanand Y. Maillacheruvu

2. INTRODUCTION • Vision of Dr. Amir Al-Khafaji • CEC Department recognized value of internationalization as early as 1995, well before the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) established the eleven student outcomes • Significance of the international experience on the growth and development of young engineers and construction professionals • Importance of international experience in a rapidly changing multicultural world

3. MECHANISMS • Global Explorer Program • Semester Abroad Study • Faculty Sabbatical

4. IMPACT ON PARTICIPANTS • Students and Faculty learned to function in multicultural world • Time management skills • Strengthening of bond between students and professors • Adjusting to local customs and getting appreciation of how people live

5. SCANDINAVIAN EXPERIENCE

6. LEARNING IN A DIFFERENT CULTURE • Exposure to perspectives of other cultures • Learning to understand established concepts in a new light • Learning about new technologies and how to be efficient • Learning about economic issues that impact professional decisions

7. SCANDINAVIAN EXPERIENCE • Denmark • Norway • Sweden • Collaborations with universities • Balancing learning with a cultural immersion experience

8. SCANDINAVIAN EXPERIENCE • Denmark • Norway • Sweden • Collaborations with universities • Balancing learning with a cultural immersion experience

9. EGYPT-JORDAN EXPERIENCE • Cultural differences between countries in the Middle East • Cost of living and economic conditions • University connections • Petra, Jerash, Dead Sea, other sites • Great Pyramids, Nile, Luxor, Alexandria, Mediterranean Coast

10. EGYPT-JORDAN EXPERIENCE

11. INDIAN EXPERIENCE

12. INDIAN EXPERIENCE

13. INDIA EXPERIENCE • Sabbatical at IIT Bombay • Student attitudes towards learning • Cultural differences and student culture in India vs. US • Scholarship and research • Travel

14. INDIA EXPERIENCE • Conferences and Workshops • Writing books and book chapters • Engaging in research with students and faculty • Long-term professional relationships with colleagues and how to keep them alive • Academic exchanges since return

15. INDIA EXPERIENCE • Interaction with high-level decision makers from Indian Government • USDoE Workshop on Energy and the Environment • Meeting with high-level Chinese Team in Mumbai on collaborative work

16. Glimpses of Study Abroad Experience • http://www.bradley.edu/academic/departments/cec/studyabroad/jordan09/ • http://www.bradley.edu/academic/departments/cec/studyabroad/uk/

17. Glimpses of Study Abroad Experience

18. IMPACT IN CLASSROOM • Faculty bring back learning from other cultures and share with students • Students share experiences with other students • Understanding of importance of internationalization and how to function in a global marketplace

19. IMPACT IN CLASSROOM • Awakening of curiosity about learning about the world • Students working for companies that do business overseas • Alumni who have become significant players in the global civil engineering industry

20. IMPACT ON EDUCATION & RESEARCH • Sustainable technologies • Appropriate technologies • Teaching styles • Learning styles • Cultural immersion

21. LESSONS LEARNED • Changing educational landscape of higher education at US Universities • Cultural sensitivity • Undergraduates from other countries • Educating world leaders of tomorrow • Meeting student outcomes through the process • Creating a new vision for the future

22. SUMMARY • Impact of Internationalization on the Learning Environment • Uniqueness of CEC Initiatives • Challenges and Opportunities • Bright future of the program • Model for many to use