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1. Designing an international research experience for graduate students

   https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1154786  

   Schneider, Verena; Grau, David; Ariaratnam, Samuel T. (June 2023, Frontiers in Education)

   As a result of the ongoing globalization, international student experiences are becoming fundamental to advance students’ development and knowledge. Even though such growing importance, the body of knowledge regarding international interventions is dominated by subjective accounts and lacks contrasted results. In order to design an international research experience for graduate students, recommendations on the design and content of such experiences based on the review of literature were explored. A qualitative and bibliographical analysis of 40 studies evaluating the influence of international student interventions informed about the variables that such interventions should measure and the impact of such experiences on student development. Researchers especially measured the competencies intercultural development (83%), intellectual growth (58%), personal development (58%), professional development (50%), and academic development (15%). However, most of the studies failed to develop an appropriate research design that enables researchers to capture the breadth and depth of an international intervention. Results include addressing various competencies that students can gain during their experience abroad, using mixed methods to collect the data, whereby data should be collected at different time points including before, and multiple times after the international experience by different means. 

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2. Framework to Assess the Impact of International Research Experiences in Civil Engineering on Graduate Students

   https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13090950  

   Mehrabi, Daniel; Grau, David; Ariaratnam, Samuel T; Schneider, Verena (September 2023, Education Sciences)

   With globalization, the demand for competent engineering graduates with international acumen increases. In order to respond to this rising demand, the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded the International Research Experiences in Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering (IRECCEE) program to understand the impact of international research experiences on students through a multidisciplinary lens. The program provides Ph.D. students in civil engineering disciplines the opportunity to gain valuable international research experience and establish long-lasting collaborations with international researchers. The program funds students to travel and perform research work at an international research institution. For every student, such research experience becomes the intervention. This paper discusses the program and the corresponding research framework with the aim that the research community can leverage such framework. The mixed-method research framework was designed to comprehensively capture the immediate and sustained impact of the program on the students’ competencies. With a multidisciplinary approach, the framework captures impacts on students’ intercultural competence, professional development, intellectual growth, personal development, and academic development. The data collection includes survey designs and interviews. In order to capture immediate and sustained impacts, data is collected before and multiple times after the intervention. 

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3. Transfer Students’ Experiences, Identity Development, and Outcomes in Engineering Technology Programs: A Review

   Ibarre, Araojo; Ayoobi, Mohsen; Merolla, David (June 2024, ASEE)

   This research paper presents a comprehensive analysis of existing literature in the domain of Engineering education, with a distinct focus on Engineering Technology (ET) education. The overarching objective is to review the literature around the experiences, identity development and outcomes of students transitioning from community colleges to 4-year institutions for an ET degree (upper two-year program) and provide guidelines for the engineering education research community towards future studies about this important body of student population. Relying on insights derived from a wide array of empirical studies, this review underscores the pivotal role of institutional support in bolstering these students’ academic trajectory. The increasing trend of students moving between institutions in pursuit of engineering education, has led to a profound need for understanding the multi-dimensional challenges they grapple with. In the realm of ET, these challenges magnify, with transfer students navigating both academic intricacies like curriculum misalignment and socio-cultural dynamics such as integration into new academic communities. Furthermore, the journey of identity development, quintessential for their retention and success in the new environment, is portrayed as an intricate process, influenced by diverse elements from their previous experiences to the new institutional ethos. First, ET transfer students are entangled in a web of academic and non-academic hurdles. These range from technicalities like curriculum harmonization to softer aspects related to socio-cultural integration and identity reformation. The studies discussed within this review provide robust evidence addressing these multifaceted challenges. Second, the significance of identity development, pivotal for their integration, performance, and overall well-being, emerges as a complex interplay of myriad factors, both internal and external. Despite the rich insights from the extant literature, the authors have identified the following areas that require further exploration to benefit the literature in this field: • Emphasis on empirical studies that delve into ET transfer students' psychological and emotional well-being. While the literature emphasizes the nuanced journey of identity development, there is potential merit in understanding how these transitions and challenges influence mental health outcomes, ensuring comprehensive institutional support. • An imperative for empirical pursuits targeting the identity evolution stages of ET transfer students, aiming to decode the driving forces and impediments in this sphere. • A probe into the effectiveness of recently adopted institutional mandates or initiatives designed to elevate the transfer odyssey, spotlighting potential lasting ramifications. In steering the larger academic community, this review advocates for a deeper immersion into the aforementioned realms, with the aspiration that the resultant knowledge amplifies the scholastic trajectories of ET transfer students and enriches their comprehensive evolution within the engineering spectrum. 

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4. International engineering students’ resistance to isolating university experiences: An opportunity for greater inclusion in engineering education

   Matters, M.; Buzzanell, P. M.; Zoltowski, C.B. (February 2022, 2022 CoNECD)

   In recent years, large numbers of international students are attending engineering schools in the US; however, more could be done by the schools to support the unique challenges these students face. This study analyzes five semi-structured interviews with international electrical and computer engineering students at Purdue University to identify the unique challenges they face due to their international status, how they persist despite the challenges, and what engineering schools can do to better support them and all students given these findings. Using a framework of student resistance, the theoretical thematic analysis found that international engineering students can struggle with language barriers and social isolation, and that these challenges are often made invisible in the environment of the school. These students most commonly persist by adapting or conforming to the domestic environment, either individually or collectively; they exhibit very few instances of resistance by our chosen definition. To better support international students, we recommend that engineering schools implement more active learning, collaborative learning, and multicultural and group communication education. These initiatives would also improve the experiences and education of all students, including underrepresented students. This article contributes to discussions about the definition and usage of student resistance as a framework for education research. 

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5. Board 245: Description, Assessment, and Outcomes of Several Interventions within a National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT): Graduate Certificate, Field Trips, Internships and International Experiences

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--42688  

   Santillan-Jimenez, Eduardo; Schutzman, Carissa; Mabisi, Keren; Biswas, Apala (June 2023, ASEE Conferences)

   An ongoing National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) aims to enhance graduate education by integrating research and professional skill development within a diverse, inclusive, and supportive academy. This contribution will describe several interventions within this NRT, namely, a graduate certificate on Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy, and Water Systems (INFEWS) – which is the research topic of the NRT – field trips to sites related to INFEWS, internships and international experiences. Moreover, the assessment and outcomes of each of these interventions will be discussed. A graduate certificate on INFEWS established through this NRT aims to 1) impart both conceptual and technical knowledge related to INFEWS to students; 2) provide them with training on key transferable skills; and 3) equip them to consider the societal, cultural, behavioral, and economic aspects of research on the food, energy, and water nexus. The starting point of the certificate is a multi-departmental and interdisciplinary course on INFEWS. In a subsequent semester students receive training on key transferrable skills in a course designed to integrate these skills with content covered in the foregoing INFEWS course. Completing these core courses gives students 6 of the 12 credit hours needed to attain the certificate. Students earn the other 6 credits by choosing from a list of elective courses. Notably, courses fulfill both certificate and degree requirements, so anticipated time-to-degree is not extended. The certificate is evaluated by assessing student learning outcomes with multiple measures, which include teacher course evaluations of individual courses, the rubric used to review a research proposal that students prepare in the transferable skills course, a professional skills dossier, competency assessments, and student post-surveys. While field trips to facilities related to INFEWS and internships at sites best aligned with their career interests – inside or outside academia – helped foster a sense of community among trainees and exposed them to various work sites and career paths, international experiences helped them gain a global perspective and appreciation for the international nature of STEM research. Evaluation data related to field trips, internships, and international experiences are collected via student focus group discussions, student post-surveys, student follow-up surveys, and alumni surveys. Additionally, the number and type of internships are tracked, and student placement with the internship host after graduation is also monitored. By sharing a description of these interventions and details about their evaluation as well as their outcomes, this contribution will inform practitioners interested in similar educational programs and experiences of both challenges and opportunities associated with these initiatives. In turn, this will help the higher education community in its pursuit to identify and implement the best and most effective practices. 

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