College of Engineering announces second year of Global Experience Scholarship Program

DETROIT (Nov. 18, 2013) - Wayne State University College of Engineering Dean Farshad Fotouhi announced in a student town hall meeting last week the partnering institutions for the college's second year of its Global Experience Scholarship Program. Students receiving scholarships for spring/summer 2014 will gain research and industry experience abroad at Fuzhou University, the Zhejiang University of Technology (ZJUT), the Shenzhen Institute of Technology, and the Technical University of Graz.

They will also have the opportunity to take WSU College of Engineering technical elective courses alongside Chinese students at Fuzhou University and Zhejiang University of Technology. Specific courses include CE 5995, Solving Traffic Congestion, which will be offered at Fuzhou, and BE5995, Cross-Cultural Engineering Problem Solving, which will be offered at ZJUT.

"We were thrilled to announce this year's partners and to offer the ability to take Wayne State engineering courses abroad," said College of Engineering Dean Farshad Fotouhi. "This scholarship program allows our students to learn about different cultures, conduct research with international scholars, gain industry experience abroad and become more marketable to future employers. We are grateful to our many friends and partners around the world who help make these types of programs a reality."

The College of Engineering and The Office for International Programs announced the creation of the Global Experience Scholarship Program in February 2013. The inaugural year saw 16 students travel to China's Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT).

Students who participated in this program in 2013 were on hand to answer questions and share their experiences at the Town Hall meeting.

According to Fotouhi, future cohorts of scholarship recipients may travel to a number of other countries around the world.

"We have had discussions with institutions in Europe, South America and the Middle East about creating similar types of opportunities for our students," said Fotouhi. "With a diverse faculty and alumni in 48 countries, there's really an enormous opportunity to further expand our efforts. We have remarkable students here at Wayne State, and we want to provide them with the necessary tools to be successful and inventive global-minded citizens."

Scholarship recipients will be named in the spring. For more information, visit http://engineering.wayne.edu/pillars/global-perspective.php.

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Wayne State University is a premier urban research institution offering 370 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 29,000 students. For more information about engineering at Wayne State University, visit engineering.wayne.edu.