Global and International Engineering

1. Global and International Engineering Professor: Dr. Miguel Alonso Jr.

2. Outline • Introduction • The Evolving Global Marketplace • International Opportunities for Engineers • Preparing for a Global Career

3. Introduction • Typically, students enter engineering programs because they excel in math and science • They think the liberal arts and humanities courses are not required • Even foreign language • With the emerging globalization of the engineering discipline, these courses become much more important • Due to corporate mergers, advancement of communications, and cheap labor

4. Introduction • Before: countries competed with goods produced from within their own country • Now: countries compete with goods that are produced with a combination of • Today’s engineers must be better educated and properly trained to meet the challenges of the global society

5. The Evolving Global Market Place • Changing world maps and political alliances • Role of mergers, acquisitions, and international partnerships • NAFTA • European Union

6. Changing world maps • Compare a map from 1990 to today’s map and the change is obvious • New countries with the breakup of the soviet union • Formation of the European Union • Nationalistic tendencies have taken root in the Far and Middle East, Asia, and Africa • September 11 and its aftermath

7. Evolving political alliances, new laws and regulations all affect the global market place • Example: China • Russia is now a partner, as are former enemies in the middle east and asia

8. Mergers, Acquisitions, and International Partnerships • Chrysler and Daimler- Benz • Pharmacia and Upjohn • Boeing and McDonnell Douglas • Dow Chemical and Union Carbide • GM and Saab • These mergers occur almost daily and affect every industry • Recent Financial Mergers

9. Net effect: accelerated global opportunities for engineers, regardless of their interest in international careers • Example: Domestic engineering company merges with an international firm: Suddenly become a global engineer • Management may shift overseas • Product development, design, and manufacturing may now be performed from a different cultural perspective

10. NAFTA • North American Free Trade Agreement • US, Canada, and Mexico • Designed to lower tariffs and increase international competition • Second largest free market in the world: 370 million people and a GDP of $6.5 trillion • Has been very controversial • Loss of jobs, but truth is more jobs have been lost to localities with cheaper labor than Mexico: Central America and Asia

11. NAFTA has achieved many positive results • Trade has more than doubled between participating countries • Investment has increased significantly • Millions of new jobs have been created

12. European Union • Institutional framework for the construction of a united Europe • Cleared the way for a single currency, the Euro and a creation of a European Central Bank • Result: Economic interdependence between US and Europe • Increase in investment and an estimated 7 million US jobs connected to EU companies

13. International Opportunities for Engineers • Environmental Industry • Consulting • Technical Sales • Automobile • Manufacturing • Construction • Pharmaceutical • Food • Petroleum • Chemical Processing • Computer and Electronics • Telecomm

14. Preparing for a Global Career • Language and Cultural Proficiency • Study Abroad and Exchange Programs • International Work Experience: Co-ops and Internships • Special Considerations • Choosing the Right Employer or Opportunity

15. Class work exercise: • Develop a list of your present international skills and abilities. Suggest how you can strengthen these skills • Choose an industry that has international opportunities and prepare a short (group) presentation on how well you fit into the global market place with your current international skills and go on to explain how you plan to improve them within this industry.