The NAE underscores the need for engineering graduates to be capable of collaborating across national boundaries. A clear understanding of what constitutes a globally prepared engineer and the most effective learning experiences is needed. This presentation offers a progress on a NSF funded multi-university research initiative that investigates how the various internationally focused learning experiences within engineering (both curricular and co-curricular) impact students’ global preparedness. Study One focused on developing an operational model of international experiences specific to engineering education.  Study Two, a mixed-methods study among four collaborating schools, incorporated two established assessment instruments, the GPI and EGPI, to measure students’ global preparedness/global competency. Statistical methodologies were applied to map outcomes to educational practices, different institutional characteristics, and student backgrounds. A series of interviews were then conducted to tease out the underlying experiences that have contributed to each student’s global preparedness.  Study Three takes the results of the prior two studies and extends the work to 13 U.S. Engineering schools via a cross-institutional study to measure the impact of international engineering education on students’ global preparedness.

Bio

Dr. Mary Besterfield-Sacre is an Associate Professor and Fulton C. Noss Faculty Fellow in Industrial Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh.  She is the Director for the Engineering Education Research Center (EERC) in the Swanson School of Engineering, and serves as a Center Associate for the Learning Research and Development Center.  Her principal research is in engineering education assessment, which has been funded by the NSF, Department of Ed, Sloan, EIF, and NCIIA.  Regarding assessment, Dr. Sacre conducts primarily quantitative analyses and statistical modeling; and this work is well published in the engineering education literature.  Dr. Sacre’s current research focuses on three distinct but highly correlated areas – innovative design and entrepreneurship, engineering modeling, and global preparedness in engineering. She also serves as an associate editor for the AEE Journal.