Winter study abroad course creates unforgettable experience for undergraduates

Civil engineers are often tasked to solve environmental issues — and sometimes the best way to prepare students to tackle these challenges is through experiential learning.

For the past two years, Venkatesh Merwade, professor of civil engineering, has led a winter study abroad course in India. There, Purdue University and University of Iowa engineering students travel through the country to learn how water conservation projects are having positive impacts on rural communities in the states of Haryana and Rajasthan. The Sehgal Foundation, an Indian NGO focused on rural development, is leading these water conservation projects and partnering with both universities.

“This course serves as a great opportunity for students to see, up close, how engineers can directly impact entire communities for the better,” Merwade said. “Many of the students have never traveled abroad, so to not only see the needs people in other countries have and the obstacles they face, but also to experience a different culture is invaluable.”

As part of the program, students shadowed members of the Sehgal Foundation and followed them from their call center to their projects in the field. One of the main projects students learned about was a recharge well that injects harvested rainwater into the saline-heavy groundwater to create a freshwater pocket.

“Soil and water obstacles like these are something I never really put a lot of thought into and it’s eye-opening to see the work being done and how much of a positive impact the project is having for an entire community,” Purdue student Dawson Baxter said. “And to see how grateful the people are to see us was really special.”

Fellow Purdue student Tommy Richards said the warm welcome they received and learning about how these communities have been changed for the better was both inspiring and motivating.

“We learn a lot about how important civil engineers are to improving communities and lives, but to see it up close and how people’s lives have been changed for the better was something I will never forget,” Richards said.

In addition to taking water samples and working with and visiting communities in rural India, students also toured some of the world’s civil engineering marvels, such as the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Amer Fort and Qutub Minar.

Overall, Purdue student Quentin Lovejoy said, the cultural and educational experience gained over the winter will stick with him for the rest of his life.

“It was a special experience and I am so glad I decided to do it,” Lovejoy said. “It was so much more than I expected to see. How we can change the lives and futures for people — and create landmarks that people all over the world come to see — is so unique to civil engineering.”