Pitt Home Find People Contact Us
School of Engineering

Note, syllabus of individual group overrides this general syllabus if they are different

Program Outline and Evaluation

The Program and evaluation of student performance is based on three components:
  1. Pre-departure (20%)

    2. Four mandatory evening seminars will be scheduled that include discussions of socio/political/historical context of your country; the analysis tools for your project; a crash course in language; information on the companies that will be visited, and advice on traveling to your country. There will be assigned reading materials.

    Dates/topics and topics vary based on the country, however, the basic schedule is as follows:

    Week of Time Topic
    Feb 23 - March 1 TBA History, economics, politics, geography of the country and Project Description
    March
    16 - 22     		TBA Language, culture, and history of the country, How to write a journal
    March
    29     		2:30 - 5:30 PM Study Abroad contracts, Traveling in your country, Code of Conduct
    April 5 TBA Presentations on your country

    Room assignments for these sessions are as follows:

    Country Feb 23 - March 1
    		 March
    16 - 22     		March
    29     		April
    5/12
    Valparaiso, Chile B75 Mervis 114 Mervis 1700 Posvar Hall 114 Mervis
    Beijing, China 1221 Benedum 1221 Benedum 1700 Posvar Hall 1221 Benedum
    Augsburg, Germany 209 Mervis 209 Mervis 1700 Posvar Hall 209 Mervis
    Santos, Brazil 138 GSCC 138 GSCC 1700 Posvar Hall 138 GSCC
    Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam xxxxx xxxxx 1700 Posvar Hall xxxxx

    There are three components to the pre-departure portion of the course:

    1. Mandatory attendance/Website (5%).
      Attendance at each of the four sessions is required, including your active participation.
         In addition, each Plus3 destination will have its own website, and there will be a general Plus3 website. The purpose of the individual websites is to provide family members access to the students while they prepare for the trip and while they are on their trip. Each group will assign one engineering student to act as the web master for the group and this student will be responsible for posting the files to the web site before the presentations of April 5.
    2. An individual report (10%).
      Each student should prepare an essay of approximately 1200 words on the following subjects.
      1. Introduction - My Current Attitudes and Beliefs toward Travel and Your Plus-3 Country
        Students should briefly describe their travel experience to date, particularly with respect to international travel and/or times when they traveled with a group of peers. What personal reasons (interest, family background, professional relevance) do you have for traveling to the Plus-3 country? How much did you know about its culture and professional background before you were selected for the trip?
      2. Individual/Personal Issues in Your Plus-3 Country
        Based on some reading and research, what cultural differences do you expect will affect your interactions with the citizens of your Plus-3 country? How do people in the country handle issues such as conflict, time management, encountering "foreigners", and drinking alcohol? What is their basic value system? What are the major differences in living, economic and political conditions for the average citizen in your Plus-3 country? More specifically, how are the people you meet on the streets every day likely to view someone who is an American citizen and/or who goes to school in the U.S.? And - if you are not an American citizen, how are people from your national background typically received among individuals in your Plus-3 country? Feel free to comment on any interesting cultural difference you expect will affect your daily interactions.
      3. Company/Professional Issues in Your Plus-3 Country
        Based on some reading and research, what cultural differences do you expect will affect your interactions with business people and engineers on the company visits? What is the "organizational culture" typically like for companies/organizations in your Plus-3 country (are companies very formal and highly organized/mechanical, or do they tend to be more informal and open/creative?) Describe the current business environment in your Plus-3 country, particularly with respect to the companies you will be visiting on the trip. Feel free to comment on any interesting professional or industry trend that is likely to have an impact on the companies we visit.
      4. National/Societal Issues in Your Plus-3 Country
        Based on some reading and research, what are the most important current political trends facing your Plus-3 country? How does your Plus-3 country fit into the global and political system with respect to issues such as major products and services, relative economic importance (Country GDP vs. Global GDP), role in innovation, environmental leadership, and human rights? Feel free to comment on any interesting national/societal issue or trend that is likely to be going on during your Plus-3 trip.
      5. Conclusion - My Personal Action Plan for My Plus-3 Trip
        After thinking about what you have learned about individuals in your Plus-3 country, company/professional issues in the country and its most important national/societal issues, how do you plan to use this knowledge when interacting with local citizens, when approaching the company visits, and when thinking about the society/culture during your two week trip?
      6. Sources
        List at least two specific websites, books or articles you consulted for each section of your reflection paper (two each for Individual/Personal, Company/Professional and National/Societal - so at least six total). Do not just list "the internet" or "Wikipedia" - give us a sense of where you found information, and try to list a specific website and/or article title whenever possible. It is fine to use Wikipedia to help find information, but any good Wikipedia article has links to specific websites and articles that go into greater detail and are written/published by established organizations.
    3. A group presentation (5%), April 5
      Before we leave for each country and during the field trip, each student should be thinking about the following topics. Students should note that the suggested topics match the main sections of the post-trip report. As such, students should think of these concepts as preparation before we leave for the country as an initial opportunity to consider concerns that they will analyze in the final project.
      • Global/National Environment: (Preparation) What interesting political, economic, social or technological factors affect the firm that you will visit? Why are these factors of interest to a professional in business or engineering?
      • Industry Analysis: (Preparation) Describe the industry of the firm that you are going to visit. What are the major product categories in this industry and who are the firm's major competitors? What unique challenges or opportunities exist for firms in this industry? Why is this industry of interest to a professional in business or engineering?
      • Engineering Principles: (Preparation) Research the basic engineering principles involved in the company process. How is the product or service produced, what raw materials are required, how do the raw materials get to the site, how is the product shipped to the customers, what variables must be considered, what are the safety concerns, what environmental factors must be considered, what skills must the workforce involved with the process have and must they be engineers? Do you see a connection between the engineering requirements and the need for a background in the sciences?
      • List of questions: (Preparation) Read the requirements for the students journals listed below. From this, make at least 2 power point slides with a list of questions you would like to ask. One slide should be the questions you will ask the professionals you meet, and the other slide should be the questions you would like to ask the students you interact with.
      The Power Point presentation should be 10 - 15 minutes long and should be an introduction to the company you will visit and a short description of the culture and business environment of your country. The presentation should include two components: 1) A short introduction to your company, 2) A short introduction to your country Brazil, Chile, China, Germany or Vietnam. When you prepare your presentation, assume you will be talking to a group who does not know anything about the company or country or about the advantages and challenges of doing business there. For resources, you should use the material presented in the pre-departure sessions, the assigned readings, and other reference work that you develop. The deliverables are the oral presentation and an electronic copy of your PowerPoint slides. Figure that you probably can cover about 10 -15 slides in 10 minutes. PRACTICE SO THAT YOU DO NOT EXCEED THE TIME LIMIT! The copy of the ppt file should be emailed to your professor a day before you are assigned to make the presentation and a copy will be posted to the trip web site.
  2. Two weeks study abroad experience (50%)
    3. The scheduled Departure date is Saturday, May 2, and the scheduled return date is Friday, May 15 for Chile, Saturday, May 16 for Germany, Brazil, China, and Vietnam. Note that the return dates are the days we are leaving the country, not necessary the day we return. Because of the different time zones related to all the trips, each trip has a different schedule.
    There are two components evaluated as part of the Study Abroad Trip:
    1. Individual Journal (35%) Due Monday, June 1

      During the two week in-country component of the course, each student is responsible for keeping a daily professional journal of their reflections on various professional issues and concerns that are encountered during the trip. We expect the average daily entry to be at least 250 words in length. We expect that each entry will discuss the daily experiences, and describe what each student did and saw, however, this is also a professional journal. This means that each entry must include not only descriptive comments about what you saw or did and it should make connections between the daily experiences and how they help in your development as an engineering or business professional. The journal is intended to compel students to make direct connections between what they are observing and experiencing on the trip and the types of issues and concerns they will face as professionals. These observations can be comparative (how the country is the same or different from the U.S.) and can include comments on day-to-day life, anecdotes, language, politics, geography, stores, social life, the popular culture of the country, etc. As you write on these topics, try and frame your comments in such a manner that they explain how this helps you understand the people and the lifestyle of your country and how this impacts your professional development in the area of global issues. As part of this journal, you must also include a description of how the program of study and life of an engineering or business student (whichever you are) is the same as and different from that of a comparable student in the U.S.

      In addition to writing on their daily activities, students must also submit a final summary journal entry that address topics on the following five (5) professional development topics. It is suggested that each student try and include something from the following list in each daily activity. At the end of the trip each student will then summarize their view on each on the following five topics by addressing each item in a separate paragraph (minimum of 200 words for each) and this will be the final journal entry. It should also be posted to the web site as the final summary journal entry.

      1. Ethical Issues in My Profession:
        Give an understanding of the professional and ethical responsibility you see as a result of the United States industries becoming global players. For example, do you see things in your country that would not be allowed or are not typical industry standards in the United States, such as safety issues, environmental issues, employee issues (wages, benefits, working conditions, etc.)? Does your country address diversity issues (gender, race, religion, lifestyle choices) differently than the United States. Because of these differences you see, could a company make more money, or do more business by doing the same thing in your country then in the United States? If so how does this affect life and business in the United States?
      2. Educational Breadth as Professional Development:
        Based on your experiences traveling in this country, describe the need for a broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering/business solutions in a global and societal context. Is it important? Are there enough differences between your country and the United States that you believe students should expand their classroom experience to include learning about different cultures? If so, explain what future courses you should take to prepare you for a global economy.
      3. Lifelong Learning, Continuing Education as Professional Development:
        As you go to the company visits, ask yourself and the people you meet, what part of their job did they learn in school and what part did they learn on the job. Ask them if their education allowed them to do their job throughout their career or did they need to learn new things each year. Ask them how technology has changed their jobs and how did they learn how to use this technology. Then, give a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning and explain how this is needed to compete in the future.
      4. The Social Environment of Professional Life:
        As you travel around the country try and discover the connection between peoples' social life and their professional life. Do you see any connection? Ask people in your country if they know anything about the social and political issues in the United States. Do you know the same about their country. Read the local newspaper, watch the local television shows, what are the topics addressed in what you see on TV, hear on the radio, read in the newspaper or magazines. If you can not understand the material in their media ask the local students to explain this to you. Explain why it is important to have knowledge of contemporary issues related to the global economy. What political, social, economic and diversity issues are involved within engineering/business that are involved within your industry on a global scale? How does this affect life and business in the United States?
      5. Functioning on Multi-Disciplinary Teams:
        It is important for professionals to be able to function and communicate effectively as a member of a team of individuals from diverse backgrounds. How do you work when you are a member of such a team (for example - you are either an engineering student who is traveling with business students, or vice-versa)? What are some of the challenges involved in establishing and maintaining effective communication on this type of cross-functional team?

      Your journal should be updated daily and an edited electronic version submitted to the trip web site daily, or as web access is available. Bring digital or standard cameras to document your trip and include photos with your journal if possible. At the end of each day go back and reflect on what you wrote for each day of the trip and continue to update your journal.

      We have found that the time goes by very fast during the trip, and students do not always have time to completely finish each days journal during the trip, thus, you have until Monday, June 1 to reflect on each day and edit/modify/complete your journal. If you are not going to complete an entry for any given day and are going to wait until you return to complete your journal, then you must at least produce and post online an outline of your activities each day.

    2. Participation (15%)

      Professional activities.
      Each student is expected to attend each and every planned event, including the sightseeing trips, the company visits and the lectures at the local universities; be on or ahead of schedule for all events; participate in all work activities; and be actively engaged in asking questions of lecturers and speakers. The Professors from Engineering and/or the College of Business will maintain participation records. After each company visit each student should complete an individual reflection on what they saw and write down any observations and/or questions they have from the trip. Then each student should use these observations as starting points for the next company visit. Consider such questions as: What interesting strengths or weaknesses were discussed (or are apparent) in the firm that you visited today? Does this firm face any interesting opportunities or threats from the external environment? Why is this firm of interest to a professional in business or engineering? What engineering issues are involved in the process? What technology or lack of did you observe? What business practices did you observe? Student groups are encouraged to share their thoughts with others groups and with each other.

      Personal activities.
      We understand that each student is an adult and as so has the right to spend their free time in the country as they wish. However, all students must also understand that while they are on the site visits and also while they are on their own time, they are representing the University of Pittsburgh. Thus, their actions directly reflect on the university's image and the image of the United States. Failure to maintain acceptable behavior will result in failure of the participation component and can be grounds for failing the course and being sent home. Acceptable and unacceptable actions will be described in the pre-departure sessions.

      The schedule for the trips is as follows:

      Country Depart US Arrive X Depart X Arrive US
      Valparaiso, Chile Saturday May 2 Sunday May 3 Friday May 15 Saturday May 16
      Beijing, China Saturday May 2 Sunday May 3 Saturday, May 16 Saturday, May 16
      Augsburg, Germany Saturday May 2 Sunday May 3 Saturday May 16 Saturday May 16
      Santos, Brazil Saturday May 2 Sunday May 3 Saturday May 16 Sunday May 17
      Saigon, Vietnam Saturday May 2 Sunday May 3 Saturday May 16 Saturday May 16

      DO NOT BUY ANY AIRLINE TICKETS TO THE HUB AIRPORT UNTIL YOUR INSTRUCTOR GIVES YOU A COPY OF THEIR FLIGHT INFORMATION.

  3. Post-trip report (30%)
    Teams: Each country trip will have approximately 20 - 40 students, some from business and some from engineering. There will be 4 - 7 company visits/country, thus the students will work in teams of about four - five students. Each team will be composed of both business and engineering students. Final team assignment will be made before the March 30 week meetings to enable students to prepare for the trip before they leave the United States.

    The post-trip report will consist of two components:

    1. Group Project Report (20%). Each student group must prepare a written report on their company. The written report should be about 9000 words (13 - 15 pages), single spaced using the paper format guide supplied. The content of the project is described in the attachment to this course description. The final version of the paper and the power point presentation is due Tuesday September 15.
    2. Oral Presentation (10%) Student groups will make a 10-minute oral presentation, that is a summary of the written report on or before Sunday, September 20. The final version of the power point presentation is due a day before the presentation. A hard copy of the final version of the slides is due the day of the presentation at the time you present. Students will receive a group grade for the presentation.
    3. c) Each student will also evaluate their individual group members to determine what percentage of the group writing and power point assignments was done by each member. Final Group report grades will then be distributed based on these percentages.

    Based on the various countries, a first draft of the paper may be required by your faculty member. If required, this will be emailed to your professor before Monday September 7.

    Critical dates:

    Tuesday September 15 Final written paper and PowerPoint slides due.

    TBA Oral presentations of project reports.

Benedum Hall

Dedicated in 1971, Benedum Hall is home to exploration and discovery.

You are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Although this site is viewable in all browsers, it will look much better in a browser that supports web standards.