Barriers to Engineering Study Abroad in Switzerland

Why are there not more engineering students studying abroad? Study abroad programs have been around for a long time, yet most students do not choose to take part in them with only 1 in 10 U.S. college students decide to study abroad. Such programs are far more popular with students studying business or other STEM majors. Engineering changes the world. Engineers have the ability to solve problems within the world as well as unintentionally cause them. That is why it is essential for engineering graduates to have a sense of the effect of their designs on the world around them. This is so important that the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET) requires that engineering students have "an ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors" as well as "an ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts." These requirements necessitate an understanding of engineering design as well as ethical reasoning to make the appropriate judgements. Most U.S. engineering programs tend to rely on general education courses to provide a baseline of social, global, and cultural context, but with the increased emphasis in assessment and accreditation, there has been a push to improve outcomes regarding student understanding of the impact of engineering designs and responsibilities with respect to the world. The way to gain the best understanding of culture and society on a global scale is to experience it. Experiential learning through some form of study abroad is the ideal method of gaining an accurate understanding of another culture; however, living outside of one's native culture is also the best way to appreciate and understand it as well. Despite how effective a study abroad experience is at improving student outcomes in this area and the documented benefits of study abroad programs, it is still uncommon among engineering programs. This paper discusses the barriers discovered while trying to improve student exchange with a program in Switzerland and discusses a possible alternative/solution to enable sustained and reliable student exchange for engineers.