Getting all the preparations ready for an international summer school for a new group of undergraduate engineering students from around the world is the responsibility of GEP2’s newest staff member, Rhonda von Werder, PAGE and Global Fellows Program Manager. Rhonda comes to the department from the College of Agriculture’s International Programs in Agriculture Office where she was the Program Manager for the Nexus Project, which involved 21 multidisciplinary research projects between Purdue and a Peruvian university. Rhonda joined the department in late Spring 2019 and her first GEP2 task was to put into action the planning for the third PAGE international summer school in which Purdue hosted 37 students from King Khalid University in Saudi Arabia and the National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan. Six weeks later with 90 hours of intensive engineering and thematic discipline courses completed, the third Purdue Academy of Global Engineering (PAGE) international summer school ended successfully. PAGE not only provided the international students with data mining, hands on laboratory experiences and intensive training in their engineering discipline, but also it gave them an opportunity to meet students from a different part of the world, collaborate with them on tasks and projects, and have some good ole fun in a challenging atmosphere. The students remain in contact with each other for networking opportunities and sharing of information and projects. The PAGE Team is excited that this tenet of global engineering—collaboration—has taken off and continues to grow.

Started in 2017 as a means to create revenue for GEP2 programs, PAGE is expanding this year to included individual students from global institutions, in addition to receiving undergraduate groups from universities. To do this, PAGE has had to market itself globally and create a web presence with on-line registration capabilities. The rollout for individual students begins in February 2020. These new students will join groups from King Khalid University in Saudi Arabia and the National University in Colombia as they progress through the PAGE Summer 2020 programs. Besides attending courses, working in labs, and doing homework, students will be participating in industry site visits to Subaru and Caterpillar as well as exploring the engineering laboratories of Purdue. In addition, students are exposed to Midwest culture and Hoosier hospitality with weekend trips to Chicago and Indianapolis and excursions to Fair Oaks Farms, Indy 11 or the Indianapolis Indians. This year, PAGE will be hosting the international summer school from mid-May to early August with various groups of students visiting Purdue throughout this period.

What began as a single offering of courses in 2017, has transformed into a customizable series of courses for both institutions and individuals. The next step for PAGE is to reach out to the corporate world and provide intensive training and retreats for engineering professionals and executives.