Global engineering education: Current challenges and opportunities

This paper discusses the challenges and opportunities in preparing students to work in a globalized engineering workforce. There has been an increasing focus on the need for engineers to practice and think globally. However there are still challenges in developing courses, curricula, and programs to address this need. Unlike more technical engineering preparation, “globalization” is difficult to operationalize, has few well-researched practices to build from, and takes place in a rapidly changing socio-economic landscape. This paper explores current trends in global education as well as the challenges associated with developing meaningful, cost-effective educational programs.