STEP Student Experiences

MY EXPERIENCES THROUGH STEP

Andrew Lock, University of Illinois at Chicago

(Andrew Lock is a mechanical engineering senior at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He participated in the Student Transatlantic Engineering Program – STEP – in the Spring semester of 2001 by traveling to the Technisch Universität Harburg-Hamburg, Germany. He then stayed in Germany on a fully funded DAAD Fellowship facilitated by STEP that allowed him to learn German with other engineering students from various countries. Andrew can be reached at alock1@uic.edu. The comments herein are his alone and do not represent the opinions of the University of Illinois at Chicago or of the US STEP Director, Professor Piergiorgio L.E. Uslenghi uslenghi@uic.edu).)

Globalization is more than a sociological theory; it is a working fact of the modern day world. This concept is the direct result of technological developments. As an engineer my personal and professional goals pivot around this fact of life. Upon realizing the importance of globalization and its unstoppable continuous effects it because obvious to me that the best way to realize this phenomenon and not be left behind was to study abroad and actually experience the global world. Germany became my choice for study because of the country’s reputation in engineering, and its current standing as not only an European leader, but as a world leader in engineering. The STEP program allowed me to pursue my international study in Germany at the Technical University Harburg-Hamburg in a very open and flexible way. Below, I will relate my experiences regarding social awareness and technological reality, that are not exclusively independent, .

My technological experiences at the TUHH (Technisch Universität Harburg-Hamburg) have been very enlightening. In German technical universities it is common to administratively separate the research functions of a university from the educational functions, which is the structure at the TUHH. The institution is very young, and actually began research activities a year before its educational programs were initiated. There are many research areas at the TUHH dealing with areas such as maritime engineering, thermodynamics, material science, chemical engineering, and bioengineering to name a few. I was fortunate enough to be hired as a student worker in the Maritime and Mechanics Department of the TUHH under Professor Kreuzer. I was assigned to work on the rehabilitation of an underwater, remotely operated, robot used for research in nonlinear dynamics as well as to develop a platform for the development of industrially applicable analogs of the robot. I was able to observe the other research activities in the same laboratory, e.g., dealing with nonlinear effects in such applications as railroad tracks, the effect of waves on ships, and the twisting moments on a long-shaft drilling rig. I attended classes at the TUHH in automation and process control, nonlinear dynamics, structures and manufacturing of polymers, and physics of high temperature strength. In the automation and process control course I was constantly amazed by the number of standard terms and naming conventions that were purely English and used as such, even though the class was taught entirely in the German language. Nonlinear dynamics was taught by Professor Kreuzer, who is the professor in charge of the laboratory where I worked. In this class, for which the language of instruction was English, I became familiar with nonlinear effects in all parts of daily life, especially mechanics, many that I was unaware of before. Structures of polymers and manufacturing of polymers were two separate classes that were related very closely to one another. The practical experiences and knowledge of Professor Schulte, as well as trips to local industries practicing the methods and processes discussed in the lecture gave this class a very practical and realistic spin that helped to show the relation between the theoretical side of polymers and the practical, functioning side. Professor Hübner in the class on physics of high temperature strength also included his own experience, and personal research findings. This course was also accented by the constant emphasis on knowing a very high quality of English. I was of course fluent in English before going to Germany but I failed to really recognize its role as a major international language until I experienced it first hand in that manner. After my studies at TUHH I say jokingly to friends “You don’t have to know German to attend the TUHH, but you do have to know English…”. This comment is in jest, but is nonetheless partially true. The university recognizes the role of English in international technical communications as a fact and not an opinion. Several international Masters degree courses of a very high quality are offered and are taught entirely in English.

Recognition of English as an international language is a way of adapting both technology and culture to globalization. English is an international language partially through of the dominance of the United States in the area of technology. I found it very easy to communicate with all of my professors entirely in English, and with very few exceptions, all of the students I met at the TUHH also spoke English well. The TUHH is a very international school. Students from the entire globe are attracted there, not only French, Spanish, Italian, Bulgaria, and from other European neighbors, but also Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Mexican, Brazilian, American and from many other countries all over the world. The nationalities I mentioned above are the dominant ones I came in contact with besides Germans. The cultural influences and interactions that are constantly at work are innumerable and sometimes difficult to trace or describe, but they are always rooted in technology. German cars are a status symbol in the United States, American shoes are a status symbol in Germany. These types of exchanges are merely the physical manifestation of globalization, i.e., results of the exchange of ideas, and the interactions of values.

Some things in Germany caught me off guard. I discovered that carrying open liquor and being intoxicated in public in Germany are not crimes as they are in the United States, but merely accepted annoyances. In addition to the liquor, I was also surprised by the proliferation of shops tailoring to other much-discouraged themes in the US. However not all of the differences I noticed were bad. The mass transit systems in Germany are phenomenal in comparison to what I am familiar with in the US. The subway comes within 30 seconds of the schedule, and digital displays showing time until the next train are available in some areas. In addition to this the German people are very particular and complete about the things they do. I was often surprised to see people wait for a crosswalk sign to change even if there were no cars in sight, or to see shops lock their doors as the second hand swept five o’clock. What we might consider eccentricities are a manifestation of the Teutonic sense of order that contributes to the German excellence in engineering.

There are many differences between the US and foreign countries, as I have noted, but ultimately there are also a great number of similarities. The increase in these similarities and a decrease in the differences between countries such as the United States and Germany are the fundamental outcomes of globalization. Consequently, technology and the social consequences they produce must be seen as being interrelated, and their relation taken into account by engineers. I believe in this fact and this is what spurred my interest and brought me to participate in the STEP program for international student exchange and study.