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Examining how international experiences promote global competency among engineering graduate students

Employers worldwide are seeking engineers who possess a more complete professional skillset that could be useful in the constantly changing globalized economy. For this reason, engineers are expected to have leadership, communication, and teamwork skills, in addition to analytical skills. Furthermore, they are also expected to have attributes of global competency, which would help them thrive in the global workforce. A plethora of information and studies exist on undergraduate students and how institutions are helping students increase their global competency through methods such as international exchange and study abroad programs. Despite these efforts, there is little information on engineering doctoral students and methods for increasing their levels of global competency. Doctoral students are at the forefront of scientific and technological innovation and discoveries, so it is critical that they are trained to work effectively in diverse environments. This study comparatively examines the intercultural experiences of a) engineering Ph.D. students from the U.S. who traveled abroad, and b) international engineering Ph.D. students who traveled to the U.S. Findings indicate that students tended to prepare themselves for travel abroad in various ways, and that negative experiences of domestic students abroad are related to a mismatch between pre-travel expectations and actual experiences. International students more frequently mention cross-cultural differences, and those with greater levels of support tended to report easier adjustments. Findings can be applied toward helping U.S. and international academic institutions identify strategies to develop graduate students' global competency levels.