In order to attain the skills necessary to succeed in cross-cultural interaction in the workplace, students are required to take part in training that prepares them for such interactions. Current possible ways to fulfill this requirement include:

Intercultural Leadership Seminar - ILS is a powerful 5-day program intended to provide participants with a deeper understanding of how to work more effectively in intercultural settings. The seminar design deliberately addresses attitudes, awareness, knowledge and skills as central aspects to developing intercultural competence. Because ILS attracts those who are concerned with cross-cultural issues, participants have the unique opportunity to engage in intensive dialogue with others who share the commitment to increasing their own intercultural competence. After participating in the seminar, students must submit a reflection paper to the Program in Global Engineering advisor which ties the seminar's learnings with engineering. The ILS usually takes place during Spring Break.

Service Hours with UM and Community Services Dealing with International Populations - Students might apply for a paid work or volunteer position to develop cross-cultural skills by direct interaction with international populations. Students must be assigned tasks that call for demonstrated competencies of understanding cross-cultural issues, such as communicating with international students on a regular basis, communicating with international partners about recent course offerings, etc. Guidelines for the service contract must be approved by the PGE advisor and the student's supervisor.

International Engineering Seminar (piloted as ENGR 490, section 050 for 1 credit in Fall 2008) - The International Engineering Seminar introduces students to global trends in engineering and business and promotes the development of intercultural awareness and communication strategies.  These course objectives are addressed through a combination of intercultural training modules, country-specific discussions and guest presentations on the global engineering profession.  Examples include global outsourcing and off-shoring, engineering in developing countries, and Alumni perspectives on international engineering careers.

Global Intercultural Experience for Undergraduates - GIEU provides opportunities for short-term intercultural study of a global nature. The program enables small groups of undergraduates, led by a faculty member, to learn in rich cultural environments and to gain a greater understanding of a particular region of the world while working on a short research project. The GIEU experience begins in Winter and extends into Fall term. The actual field experience takes place during spring or summer term. Accepted students must participate in all aspects of the GIEU program, which includes a 2-credit university mini-course dealing with cross-cultural communication (usually held during spring break), winter term project meetings with the faculty member, orientation, the 3-4 week field experience, debriefing, and fall symposium.

Independent Study - Students work with a faculty member whose research involves working with international colleagues, supplies, etc. Resources for such projects might be the UROP program or faculty with international collaboration. The independent study project must include:

• Minimum of 30 hours of work on the project with international focus
• 15 hours should be direct, face-to-face interaction with internationals
• Reflection paper on challenges interacting with internationals, focusing on lessons learned during the independent study experience
• Plan for personal goals to further improve intercultural awareness/communication skills
• Content paper on the actual project
  

Cross-Cultural Courses at UM - The courses listed below will fulfill the cross-cultural component of the Program in Global Engineering. IPE will annually monitor University course offerings to add to this list. Students are encouraged to propose other for credit offerings that they feel might be a plausible cross-cultural course alternative.