Project Overview
Project currently in Phase 2
We are conducting a multiple-case study of three long-running global engineering programs to explore the impact of global undergraduate experiences on engineers’ career pathways and approaches to engineering work. We have selected the case-study approach to overcome common challenges associated with alumni studies in terms of recruitment and generalizability. Recruitment will be supported by the strong alumni connections maintained by these programs and we will follow a replication study design where we expect to find similar results across the three cases, rather than seeking generalizability to all engineers or students. To achieve our goal, we will address the following research questions:
Research Question 1: How do global career outcomes (GEC and global work activities) compare between engineers who participated in global programs as undergraduate students and those who did not?
Research Question 2: What global experience, global self-concept, and career choice variables are predictors of global career outcomes (GEC and global work activities)?
Research Question 3: How do global experiences during the undergraduate years and after entering the workforce influence engineers’ approaches to engineering work?
Research Question 4: How do global experiences during the undergraduate years and after entering the workforce influence engineers’ career choices?
Our study will be conducted in three phases.
In Phase 1 of our study, we administered a survey about career trajectories, global career outcomes, and global experiences during and after college to all the alumni of established global engineering programs from three universities (595 participants). Based on the response to this survey, we identified a comparison group within each case with similar composition based on disciplines and industry sectors represented by recruiting engineering alumni from the same university and administer the same survey to this group (543 participants). The data collected through these surveys will be analyzed within each case to address RQ1 and RQ2. As a part of both surveys, we asked participants for their willingness to be contacted for an interview. Initial results for Phase 1 can be found here: https://engineering.purdue.edu/GCIS/project-overview/phase-I
In Phase 2 of our study, we will conduct interviews to understand participants’ approaches to engineering work, global career outcomes, and experiences they believe prepared them to engage effectively in a global work environment. These interviews will be conducted with participants from both the global programs and comparison groups (again selected for alignment based on discipline and industry sector, targeting 10 interviews per case for each group). The interview data will be analyzed within each case to address RQ3 and RQ4 through multiple rounds of thematic analysis.
In Phase 3 of our study, we will make a cross-case comparison by developing case summaries and holistically comparing the findings from Phases 1 and 2 across cases.
Project Outcomes: Our project will contribute new insights about global career pathways in engineering, global career outcomes in engineering, and the nature of global engineering work. Our findings can also shed light on the ways in which engineers engage in lifelong learning related to GEC and identify workforce development approaches that can support engineers’ success in the increasingly global work environment, both during the undergraduate years and after they enter the workforce. We anticipate our results will lead to recommendations for the design of global engineering programs for students and global professional development opportunities for practicing engineers.