Invited Paper - Does the International Engineering Program Produce Graduates for the Rhode Island Workforce? Assessing Skill Sets and Company Needs

Abstract Does the International Engineering Program Produce Graduates for the Rhode Island Workforce? Assessing Skill Sets and Company Needs Abstract and Methodology:Does the value graduates of the International Engineering Program attribute to the impact of theirfive-year dual degrees from the University of Rhode Island on the development of theirlinguistic, cross-cultural and technical skills match the demand Rhode Island businesses have fora trained workforce? The following article presents and evaluates data collected from 114students who completed the International Engineering Program, which comes with a year-longstay abroad studying and interning in Germany, between 1991 and 2011. The outcome of thisanalysis is cross-referenced against data collected from a focus group of corporations in the Stateof Rhode Island who received these graduates,. In order to better understand the overall nature ofbusiness needs, especially multilingual demands, a variety of representatives from businesseswere interviewed. Interviewees were selected based upon the fiscal impact of their companies onthe Rhode Island economy and upon the importance and utility of services provided to thepublic. All interviewees were emailed the interview questions in advance. The assessment didnot attempt to analyze every business entity, and in this sense, should not be consideredcomprehensive. The 25-year old International Engineering Program at the University of Rhode Island wasoriginally designed as a dual-degree program for German and Engineering majors; studentsreceived bachelor‘s degrees in the language, as well as in their engineering discipline. Keycomponents of the program from the beginning were specialized language courses that includeinstruction in technical German and a six-month professional internship with an engineeringcompany in one of the German-speaking countries.i In 1995 an optional semester of study at theTechnische Universität Braunschweig was added.ii The German undergraduate exchange waseventually expanded to include graduate programs in which students simultaneously earnadvanced degrees in engineering from the TU Braunschweig and the University of Rhode Islandat either the master‘s or the doctoral level.iii Inspired by the immediate success of the Germanprogram, the University added similar dual degree programs in Engineering with Spanish,French, and most recently Chinese,iv which also proved successful. The German program,however, remains the main stay of the IEP programs; it boosts the highest numbers of enrolledstudents (Table 1). Because the German program also offers the largest homogeneous group ofgraduates, this article is based on data collected from graduates from the German program. 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10German 102 113 118 121 122 128 133 126Spanish 37 42 45 42 52 51 63 69French 27 27 27 33 28 27 28 29Chinese 14 20 29 30IEP overall 166 182 190 196 216 226 253 254Table 1: IEP undergraduate enrollments 2002-2010, compiled from Facts and FiguresThe survey and methodThe information presented here was gathered in two iterations of the IEP alumni survey. The firstsurvey was emailed in 2007 to 163 students who had graduated from the program between 1991and 2006; 68 graduates responded and completed the survey. An identical survey was sentelectronically in 2011 to 63 students who had graduated between 2007 and 2010. These 226requests for participation yielded 111 completed surveysv and a surprisingly high response rateof 49.1%. Compared to the overall number of 291 German IEP graduates between 1990 and2010, the data still represent the experience of a significant portion (38.1%) of all participants inthe program. We are focusing here on findings from the first part of the alumni survey whichgathered general population data, such as graduation year, engineering discipline, type ofinternational experience (internship or study-abroad, or both). Participants were then asked togive their personal assessment of the program, specifying the value they attributed to theindividual components as opportunities for professional preparation, personal growth, languagelearning and increasing cross-cultural awareness and skills. International components and their overall assessmentThe IEP requires a significant international experience of all graduates. Students are required tocomplete a six-month professional internship abroad; if no appropriate placement can be found,students may replace their internship with a semester of study at one of the program‘s partneruniversities—albeit with the stipulation that they complete and pass an engineering course taughtin the foreign language. This exception, however, is only rarely and reluctantly granted. Of the111 participants in the survey, only seven (6.3%) did not complete an internship, but insteadworked as research assistants at the Technische Universität Braunschweig. The overwhelmingmajority of respondents (93.7%) completed a six-month professional internship abroad; morethan four fifths (82.9%) spent a semester studying at the TU Braunschweig, and more than threequarters (76.6%) completed both a semester abroad and a professional internship.The overall satisfaction of IEP graduates with their international experiences was very high, yetIEP graduates seemed to value their internship slightly more than their study-abroad experience:Only one participant indicated that he would probably not want to repeat his internshipexperience; two participants stated that they would probably not want to repeat their studyabroad, and two participants declared that they would definitely not repeat their study abroadexperience (Table 2). If you could, would you repeat … the IEP program the internship the study abroad overall experience experience definitely 80.9% 82% 71% probably 14.9% 7% 15% maybe 4.3% 10% 10% probably not 0% 1% 2% definitely not 0% 0% 2%Table 2: Overall satisfaction with the IEP program and its international componentsIn general, participants saw the value of their semester abroad predominantly in the opportunityto improve their language skills and as an enriching cultural and personal experience, and less asa preparation for their professional career.The study-abroad experienceAlmost all participants (97%) valued their semester abroad as a personal growth experience;95% as an opportunity to improve their language skills and to experience a foreign culture; and88% appreciated the opportunity to make new friends. Participants attributed less value to thestudy-abroad experience as a preparation for their professional career. Only 65% of participantswere absolutely or very satisfied with their semester abroad as preparation for a professionalcareer, and only 51% reported high satisfaction with their experience as an opportunity to learnnew engineering skills or to make professional contacts (see Table 3).viSatisfaction with ……. experience as study abroad internship(rated 4 or 5 on a scale from 1 to 5)Professional experiencePreparation for a professional career 64.8 75.7Opportunity to learn new technical skills 51.2 61.3Opportunity to apply your engineering skills n/a 67.1Opportunity to make professional contacts 50.6 75.5Additional qualification on résumé 90.9 93.9Cultural experienceLanguage-learning experience 95.5 93.9Opportunity to experience a foreign culture 95.5 93.2Opportunity to reflect on U.S. culture 93.1 90.5Personal experiencePersonal growth experience 96.6 89.2Opportunity to reflect on career choices 68.2 89.2Opportunity to make new friends 87.5 88.0Table 3: Satisfaction with study-abroad and internship experiencesThese assessments were also supported when graduates had the opportunity to comment on theirstudy-abroad experience. Increased understanding of German culture, building personalfriendships, experiencing personal growth, and improving language skills are most frequentlymentioned as the most positive aspects of the participants‘ study-abroad experience. Of 67written comments, nine emphasize significant gains in language skills; 11 participants focus ontheir personal growth, couched in terms like ―the maturing portion,‖ ―the ability to functionindependently,‖ or ―to live as an adult.‖ 19 participants list their experience and improvedunderstanding of German culture as the most valuable aspect, and another 17 emphasize theopportunity to travel within Europe.By the end of their study-abroad experience, 56% of participants reported few or no problemshandling city, state, or federal bureaucracies; 17% reported significant problems, and only 2%found doing so still too difficult. Despite some academic problems they disclosed in science andengineering courses, students also reported disproportionate gains in certain skill areas. Whileonly 51.2% of participants were satisfied with their professional preparation while studyingabroad, 60.2% nevertheless reported significant gains in their ability to solve complex technicalproblems. Even more astounding are the 71.5% who gained a significantly better understandingof engineering processes and the 84.1% of participants who acquired a considerably betterunderstanding of professional expectations and conduct.Compared to their study abroad experience, participants rated their internships higher as apreparation for a professional career, but slightly lower as cultural and personal growthexperience (see Table 3). Participants valued their internships less as an opportunity to gaintechnical hard skills (61.3%), but more as an opportunity to apply their technical skills (67.1%)and to make professional contacts (75.5%). This is also reflected in their written comments. Ofthe 73 responses describing the most positive aspect of their internship experiences, 30 focus onthe ability to experience engineering as it is practiced in a different culture, 14 emphasize thathaving had the internship experience has helped the participants‘ job search, and another 13comments stress the gains in confidence and self-reliance made during the internship. Of course,there are also problems associated with the internships. Of 71 comments discussing the worstaspect of the internship, fifteen have nothing to complain; 18 comments, however, focus oninadequate internship assignments.Given that alums of the IEP report linguistic and cultural skills to be among the highestperceived gains, is there a match in the skill-set Rhode Island businesses are looking for?viiIn 2008, the International Trade Administration reported that exports and world markets sustainthousands of Rhode Island jobs and businesses. Companies who exported goods from RhodeIsland totaled 1,468, and of those 1,306 (89 percent) were small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs) with fewer than 500 employees. SMEs also generated 51 percent of Rhode Island‘s totalexports of merchandise in 2008, the fifth largest share among the states, well above the nationalaverage of 31 percent. Likewise, world markets played a key role in in Rhode Island's economicoutput; export shipments of merchandise in 2010 measured a total of $1.9 billion. The state'slargest market was Canada, posting merchandise sales of $591 million in 2010, whichconstituted 30 percent of the state‘s total exports); following Canada were Mexico ($136million), Germany ($118 million), Turkey ($86 million), and China ($78 million).Because exports and world markets sustain thousands of businesses in Rhode Island, theUniversity of Rhode Island‘s research team conducted a telephone survey to assess secondlanguage needs within small and medium sized businesses (SMEs), and multibillion dollar,multinational corporations (MNCs).Languages and Proficiency: SME-specific NeedsThe majority of SME respondents think that companies who have employees with foreignlanguage abilities have a distinct advantage over those who do not. Although speaking a foreignlanguage is not a requirement for employment in most SMEs in Rhode Island, foreign languageabilities can increase efficiency, avoid extra business costs, and expand business productivity.CEO Andrew Corsini from Supfina, a North Kingstown, Rhode Island company whose exportshave grown to constitute 60% of Supfina‘s business world-wide, reports: There are extra business costs for not having linguistic and cultural skills readily available. When we are not able to ask the right questions to find out what the customer’s specific needs are, this costs us money. In addition, when the language is a barrier and our technical sales force is not able to explain a machine tool and how it works to a customer, this customer will come back to us with a broken tool, and demand to get reimbursed. This causes higher warranty costs, on the one hand, and customer dissatisfaction on the other. In contrast, if our engineers’ foreign language skills are put to use, those employees can help foster the bonding process between our parent company in Germany, and our facility in Quonset. That is why I have hired so many graduates of the German International Engineering Program; having people who speak the native language really helps improve communications and synergy between company cultures.Rhode Island second language needs are most prominent in SMEs where the companyemployees interface with foreign customers and suppliers on a regular basis. Although a numberof businesses use translation services or interpreters for these language needs, companies havealso emphasized the importance of local employees to be able to translate foreign-languagenegotiations between parties into business-specific applications. For instance, although atranslator is capable of direct translation, he or she may not ―know the language of business,‖ ormay not have enough of a vested self-interest with the company to work out language gapsand/or to specifically translate complex details or technicalities pertinent to the particularbusiness. Therefore, it is extremely important that current employees understand thecomplexities of cultural exchanges and foreign language translations.Depending on the nature of the business, Rhode Island SMEs expressed the growing need foremployees not necessarily to master a foreign language, but to be able to understand differentlanguage and cultural nuances. Matthew Zimmerman from FarSounder Inc., a Rhode Islandcompany based in Warwick that sells security navigation systems to just about any country thathas a coast, observed, ―there is always a difference between what is said, and how it is said.‖According to our findings, most SME interviewees agree that certain languages cannot always bedirectly translated, and that employees who have had language and culture training understandhow to swim with the cultural tide as opposed to struggle against it in vain.Rhode Island SME‘s language needs are highly dependent on the nature of the particularbusiness and whether or not it is operating locally or internationally. Internationally, RhodeIsland exports to over 208 different destinations worldwide. The top five international businesslanguage needs in Rhode Island are French, Chinese, German, Spanish, and Polish, with Italianand Russian following close behind. Nevertheless, almost 90% of the business respondentsstated that there were no specific hiring policies in place to increase cultural and linguisticcompetencies within the organization. This is mainly because most of the candidates theyinterview do not have the language proficiency needed to effectively handle a businesstransaction, interface with foreign governments or build new markets. Unfortunately, because ofthis lack of proficiency, the greater part of the interviewed companies outsourced languageservice needs to translation services, native and heritage speakers, and localization firms.However, the other 10% indicated a very strong demand for foreign languages and aggressivelyseek out employees with those skills.Languages and Proficiency: MNC-Specific NeedsIn Rhode Island, MNCs are spearheading their language and proficiency needs by focusing moreon multilingual capability at the upper management level in areas such as transaction processing,network integration, infrastructure development, and government contracting. A good example isGTECH, one of the world‘s largest commercial lottery operators and market leader in the Italiangaming industry with €2.3 billion in revenue and 7,700 employees in approximately 60countries. Angela Wiczek, GTECH's Director of Corporate Communicationsreports that thecompany relies heavily on upper-level managers to deliver superior multilingual performance inspoken communication, reading and writing. “Our information exchange consists of business exchange, technology, laws, policies, and regulations. We, often times, work in global teams and interface with foreign customers and/or distributors to try to build new markets in areas where we think our products will thrive. We also have people in the field monitoring the political climate in many countries in order to help with our primary goals and objectives, especially, on issues surrounding privatization. This amount of foreign exchange on a daily basis requires that all of our upper-level employees have multilingual capabilities.”All MNCs agreed that multilingual capability is required from their top management levelemployees if they are to be competitive in today‘s global economy.viii They also commented onthe fact that if an employee speaks two or three, or five different languages, it gives them moreflexibility to move employees in and out of different markets with a shorter transition period.The challenge they face, however, is finding a cadre of people that can fit this model. Manypeople are afraid of being sent abroad because they have not had the opportunity to develop theircultural and language skills; therefore they feel unprepared and do not think that they can handlea posting abroad. This forces MNCs to hire foreign nationals for their management posts abroad,thereby decreasing job opportunities for local Rhode Islanders.All MNCs see learning a foreign language and developing cross-cultural skills as a gateway tobuilding relationships and translating shared values, which can result in efficient and effectivebusiness practices. However, with respect to linguistic training and foreign language capabilitieswe found two opposing views of how to meet challenges of the global market place. The firstrelies on English being the predominant business language in the world; companies with thisview do not see the need to train employees in foreign languages or to hire multi-lingual talent.For their overseas facility‘s management they rely on hiring local managers throughout theworld. A representative of this view, Kathleen McPhee, Director, Talent Management, APCSchneider Electric of West Kingstown, a global leader in energy and data center management,explains that, “English is the most important language for international business today, that is not to say that that will not change, but as our companies expands internationally we have been much more focused on the transference of our corporate values than foreign language acquisition.”The second view recognizes that today‘s around-the-clock business transactions are increasinglyand most efficiently done with a multilingual management and work force on board. In a reportentitled, as A for from the on the of Engineering IEP Director a by of the and of a and company that business in countries and In his that to be but has There was a did in Rhode Island and when communications be the however, is dependent on the ability of from the and to work and efficiently in order of its first to the for costs and but this advantage has in the a for in the be in of the and that much of the of Rhode the in with and from a variety of and cultural is rely on development in which we with and the to advantage of the and this global is no and having the language skills and cultural is a success is the ability to and with a of and worldwide. An ability to teams problems and a to with in all of the is specific engineering team is a between our U.S. engineering and and our They from our U.S. and teams as well as and them into more and specific They work with the on the and what we want to do and They help the and of a and make when problems They also help the U.S. teams understand the and of the they as a in the Rhode Island MNCs do not have any specific hiring that based on foreign language who a foreign language or at a from the survey also that the University of International Engineering Program has been in the development of in Rhode graduates who a degree in an engineering with a of in a foreign language spent a abroad studying for a semester and interning for with a are very valuable to any that would to hire locally Island such as or MNCs in who a portion work force from Rhode Island, such as in or in graduates from the IEP to use them as their in the and their in China and of companies are as is the for Electric or may also be by the international is to hire and German speaking engineering graduates to use them between its in Rhode Island and Germany, and in is to hire German speaking IEP they need them to translate the of such as they as and over translating back and the to the of and is the ability of and to cross-cultural and where different cultural and Kathleen from a Rhode Island company that for and for to security employees employees in the that, who are able to understand what works and what not work in different cultural and people who have cross-cultural who have the and can do in different will be the people that are the most valuable to our and from a company that that, of employees are who are They have and are able to speak a foreign The greater part of the that cultural is foreign language learning and a of in people which them to not only in cultural but with your who are cultural and into the and they a of and at is one of of cross-cultural to from Inc., a company with employees in Rhode Island and employees data presented above a strong between the value graduates of the International Engineering Program attribute to the linguistic skills they during their study and work stay and the demand by medium and businesses in Rhode Although we alums of the German the can be as representative of the other as it can be that IEP graduates who a second or in to who are and and have had to apply their technical skills in a international come with for the Rhode Island work For information about the language courses for engineering for and for German and in an on German For a more of the International Engineering Program, its components and its and the Engineering and also the with Engineering In of for Engineering 1 For more information about the IEP dual degree graduate see University Island Program with the University of Braunschweig and for Engineering for Engineering the program a bachelor‘s degree in Engineering with a in A was in and the first dual degree in and Engineering graduated in information was only for 226 out of a total of 291 graduates between 1990 and There are two for this is that the or participants both a semester abroad and an internship attributed more value to their internship for their professional career. may in the linguistic of the 51% respondents that they were either or very unprepared to academic or technical and only not all students completed their engineering For a report about our assessment of the demand for multilingual and skills in the Rhode see 2011 U.S. Rhode Island to University of Rhode Island This finding a 2011 report on the of 2011. at and as A for A on the of Engineering Rhode Island This report can be

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