Going the Extra Mile
The new publication by IEP Director Emeritus John Grandin
Photo Credit: Payam Fahr '12 GIEP/MCE
Former IEP executive director John Grandin is pleased to announce the publication of Going the Extra Mile: University of Rhode Island Engineers in the Global Workplace, by John M. Grandin, 182 pages, paperback, 2011. In this volume Grandin tells the story of 15 IEP graduates, each of whom completed a language degree along with his or her full engineering curriculum and spent an entire year abroad as part of the rigorous IEP education. Based on extensive interviews, the resulting series of personal case studies seeks to define what these former students gained through their international study and internships over and above a conventional engineering education, and what difference their experiences abroad have made for their lives and careers. What additional skills did they acquire over and above their pure technical knowledge? Do they use their new language in their work today? Have they advanced more quickly in their careers as a result of their international preparation and cross-cultural expertise? What can we learn from them now that they are established in the workplace and being asked to look back and reflect on their international preparation? And what might this mean as higher education plans for the curricula of the future?
The volume seeks to address the interests of students past, present, and future, but also engineering educators, language educators, international program officers, college and university deans, provosts, and presidents. Grandin writes about young engineers, for example, in the global automobile industry, the defense and aerospace industry, the chemical industry, and the machine tool industry; he tells of transitioning from bioengineering to the study of medicine and vascular surgery, or of addressing sustainability issues for a major corporation located in 37 countries.
Read more and/or purchase Going the Extra Mile through Amazon.com. It is also as a Kindle e-book.
In celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the IEP in 2012, we are encouraging donations of any amount for the John Grandin Directorship Fund, launched in 2010. We will distribute free copies to present and past donors to the IEP of $100 or more. To participate in this plan, write out a check to the URI Foundation with mention of the John Grandin IEP Directorship Fund in the memo line. Please include your home address in the envelope, and send it to IEP director.
Sigrid Berka
International Engineering Program
University of Rhode Island
61 Upper College Road
Kingston, RI 02881
If you have questions, please contact sberka@uri.edu
ALUMNI TESTIMONIAL
"The IEP broadened my horizon and gave me a new view of engineering and of the world. The breadth of knowledge acquired through the experience cannot be quantified, not to mention the countless friends made along the way."
--Taylor Spalt, '07 mechanical engineering and Spanish language graduate. Currently a graduate research assistant at the National Institute of Aerospace and at NASA's Langley Research Center
More Information
For Prospective Students: Need money? Consider applying for the Centennial Scholarship or any of the scholarships or grants from the College of Engineering today!
