Globalization: A Driving Force in Germany

01/19/2018
Ed Brennen

Thanks to automakers such as Audi, BMW, Porsche and Mercedes-Benz, Germany is synonymous with engineering excellence.

But sit in the driver’s seat of one of those cars for a moment and consider the steering wheel. 

“How many nations are involved in manufacturing that simple part?” asks Matthias Weyer, dean of the School of Engineering at Pforzheim University, located in the southern Black Forest region of Germany. “The suppliers of the steering wheel and their sub-suppliers are spread over 15 countries… Engineers therefore need to be more globally positioned and networked worldwide.”

Francis College of Engineering students looking to gain that valuable international experience have many options from which they can choose through the university’s Study Abroad Office. That includes two programs with partner institutions in Germany: Hochschule Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences (H_DA) and Pforzheim.

Dean Joseph Hartman of the Francis College of Engineering says that while every study abroad experience gives students a valuable opportunity to become immersed in new cultures, the programs in Germany are ideal for students looking to earn the maximum number of engineering credits toward their degrees.  

“It’s a great experience, yet practical,” says Hartman, who visited Pforzheim in 2013 and collaborated with Weyer to help establish Engineers Made in Germany (EMIG), a six-week program where students can earn nine credits by taking two engineering courses and one German language course (at beginner or refresher level). Only three U.S. schools are invited to participate in EMIG each year: Penn State University, Lehigh University and UMass Lowell. 

“They put together a wonderful program that includes cultural sightseeing, engineering and business visits, and a great curriculum centered on automobile production,” Hartman says. “What better place to learn about building cool cars than Germany?”

Now in its fifth year, EMIG runs this summer from May 18 to June 30. A half-dozen UMass Lowell students participate each year.

Gabriel Fernandez, a junior mechanical engineering major from Dunstable, Mass., took part in EMIG last summer. He says it was “the best experience of my life, without a doubt.”

While Fernandez appreciated being able to earn six mechanical engineering technical elective credits and three arts and humanities credits while in Pforzheim, he also loved the opportunity to explore more of Europe. The program includes a four-day trip to Berlin, a three-day trip to Munich and several daylong excursions. Students also have three weekends to explore on their own.

“I got to visit Paris and Rota, Spain, two places I’ve always wanted to go,” Fernandez says. “I doubt I will ever get another chance to experience as much of Europe and have as much fun as I did in those six weeks.”

Irini Billiri participated in the program in 2014, two years before graduating with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 2016.

“The six weeks I spent in Pforzheim will forever hold a place in my heart,” says Billiri, a Billerica, Mass., native who now works as a product test engineer at GE Healthcare in Westborough. 

“Being a student in another country was a very positive experience for me,” says Billiri, who adds that she was able to apply a lot of what she learned in Germany in her classes at UMass Lowell.

Located about 80 miles north of Pforzheim, near Frankfurt, is Hochschule Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences. In 2015, the school was awarded a four-year, 800,000-euro grant (about $950,000) from the German government to enhance relationships with five strategic partner institutions. UMass Lowell was chosen along with Penn State, Purdue University, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and the University of Wisconsin-Stout.

Students can participate in a four-week summer program (running this year from July 15 to Aug. 11), a winter intersession program or a full semester program. Like at Pforzheim, the H_DA program combines engineering courses with a German language class, along with site visits in and around Darmstadt, which is known as the “City of Science.”

Nicholas Langberg, a junior chemical engineering major from Lancaster, Mass., participated in H_DA’s summer program in 2016. He was even able to arrange a two-month internship in a chemical engineering research lab at the school before the program started.

“It ended up being one of the best experiences of my life,” Langberg says. “Not only was I able to have this great experience abroad, but I was also able to gain real-world experience in my field of study, which I hadn’t really had yet.”

With more and more disruptive technologies coming onto the market that promise to change the world dramatically, Pforzheim’s Weyer says it’s more important than ever for engineers to have a global mindset.

“We’re creating a foundation for future forms of cooperation,” Weyer says, “as we build mutual trust among institutions and friendships between people.”