Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T01:41:15.740Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Study Abroad Experiences in the Developing World: Opportunities and Challenges

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2011

Richard A. LeSar  and
Kenneth M. Bryden
Richard A. LeSar
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, U.S.A.
Kenneth M. Bryden
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, AMes, IA 50011, U.S.A.
Get access

Abstract

Over the past three years the Departments of Materials Science and Engineering and Mechanical Engineering at Iowa State University have conducted a study-abroad course for ISU undergraduates in a small, isolated, village in the country of Mali, in western, sub-Saharan Africa. Most, if not all, of the people in the village live under conditions that the World Bank refers to as extreme poverty. The focus of the course is on the development of sustainable technologies that are appropriate for the people in this village and villages similar to it. Our goal is to offer students a chance to develop such technologies, in the end changing how they view engineering and their role as engineers. One of the challenges of the course is how to integrate this high value off-campus experience into the on-campus curriculum. To do this we have linked two on-campus sustainable engineering courses (sustainable engineering systems and appropriate technology design) with this study abroad course. In this paper, we discuss the course in more detail, with a focus on an assessment of how well we are meeting our objectives. We shall also discuss the challenges of holding such a course and will offer some advice for those who may wish to venture along the same path.

Keywords

educationeconomicscommerce
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1320: Symposium XX – Materials Education Development and Outreach—From K-Grad , 2011 , mrsf10-1320-xx05-07
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1. World Bank World Development Indicators 2008 (http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DATASTATISTICS/Resources/WDI08supplement1216.pdf)Google Scholar
2. U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Projections (http://www.npg.org/facts/world_pop_year.htm)Google Scholar
3. United Nations Millennium Development Goals (http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/)Google Scholar
4. Iowa State College of Engineering, “The 2050 Challenge” (http://www.eng.iastate.edu/2050challenge/)Google Scholar
5. Adams, W. M., “The future of sustainability: Re-thinking environment and development in the twenty-first century,” IUCN Renowned Thinkers Meeting, 2006. http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/iucn_future_of_sustanability.pdf Google Scholar
6. Dodds, S., “Towards a ‘science of sustainability’: Improving the way ecological economics understands human well-being,” Ecological Economics 23 (1997), 95–111.Google Scholar
7. Holistic Engineering Education: Beyond Technology, (Grasso, D. and Burkins, M. B., editors, (Springer, New York, 2010).Google Scholar
8. Wulf, W. A. (former President of the National Academy of Engineering), “The Image of Engineering,” Issues in Science and technology Online . http://www.issues.org/15.2/wulf.htm Google Scholar
9. Dettwyler, K. A., Dancing Skeletons: Life and Death in West Africa (Waveland Press, Long Grove, IL USA, 1994).Google Scholar
10. Holloway, K., Monique and the Mango Rains (Waveland Press, Long Grove, IL USA, 2007).Google Scholar
11. Polak, P., Out of Poverty: What Works when Traditional Approaches Fail (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, San Francisco, CA USA, 2009).Google Scholar
12. Schumacher, E. F., Small is Beautiful. Economics as if People Really Mattered (Harley & Marks, Pt. Roberts, WA, USA, 1999).Google Scholar
13. Stockdale, A. M., “‘2050 Challenge’ introduces college students to hands-on technology project in Mali,” MRS Bulletin 34, 482–484 (2009).Google Scholar