Resumen de An international fellowship experience for engineering undergraduate: improving technical, teamwork, and cultural competency
Benjamin B. Wheatley, Kristine M. Fischenich, Lisa M. Abrams, Sheryl A. Sorby, Harlal Singh Mali, Anil K. Jain, Tammy L. Haut Donahue
The opportunity to partake in an international technical experience is rare for undergraduate engineering students. Whilethese programs are not common, this international exposure provides highly valuable educational experiences forstudents. This work highlights the approach, goals, outcomes, and improvements of year one in a three-year programwhere students applied engineering methods in a developing country to improve the design and fabrication of a low costprosthetic limb known as the Jaipur Foot. Specifically, six students travelled to Jaipur, India to partake in not onlytechnical work, but to also gain insight into how cultural differences affect engineering practice and to learn about theappropriate use of technology in the developing world. In summary, students developed important practical skills, butperhaps moreimportantlytheyacquired valuable communicationskillsand anunderstanding ofthe greater clinical impactof their work. This work supports the notion that global competency for engineers should be obtained through directexperiences in a different culture.
