2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Board 20: Work in Progress: Investigating the Impact of International Education on Cultural Understanding, Health Disparities and Collaboration through Project-based Learning

Presented at Biomedical Engineering Division (BED) Poster Session

Working in areas of product development, engineering design, and innovation in the healthcare sector often requires a broad understanding of culture and the world. Having a global perspective can improve collaborations between designers, stakeholders, and innovators. Acknowledging the interdependence of our world, where the well-being of one individual is intrinsically connected to the well-being of the entire ecosystem, we have designed a “Biomedical Innovations for Global Impact” course that connects participating students with a global and local network of students, faculty, community partners, and mentors, and invites them to develop viable solutions to pressing health care or sanitation related challenges in different locations around the world. Students are invited to foster communication, improve their intercultural skills, optimize the use of existing resources, develop open-source solutions, and consider new venture development techniques as they take their innovations from idea to pitch. The course demands creativity, critical thinking, and interdisciplinary collaboration in a multinational context. The course has been designed to focus on specific problems triggered by healthcare challenges and gives students the opportunity to work creatively and with students from different countries and disciplines. The course is designed to include students from the United States, Panama, and India. Business and engineering professors instruct students on the importance of the design process during product development and how global health needs impacts the process. All student teams are teamed up with a clinical advisor and consist of students from different disciplines. At the end of the semester, each interdisciplinary team will present their proposed solution to meet the targeted global health need.
To investigate the impact of the project-based learning course on cultural understanding, health disparities and collaboration, we evaluated the effectiveness of the course through pre-course and post-course surveys focused on 4 different areas: cultural understanding, educational experience, personal growth, and professional development. Qualitative data consisted of open-ended questions focused on each category, while quantitative data consisted of Likert scale questions. The survey results were then compared across different locations, to gain a better understanding of how different perspectives impact design choices. We hypothesized that the course would broaden students’ understanding of healthcare disparities and help develop skills for working in interdisciplinary teams to solve problems. Preliminary data indicates that students from all three countries desire to learn more about different cultures and grow in their understanding. Due to the broad overall impact of the project, we are continuing to analyze the data to compare perspectives, cultural understanding, and growth in understanding the complexities of global health issues. This work will broadly investigate and seek to improve cultural competencies, and healthcare entrepreneurship across diverse groups in biomedical engineering education. With the guidance of this study, we will enrich the biomedical engineering curriculum and develop courses that promote empathy, solidarity, and transnational, multidisciplinary, multi-sector collaboration, making sure common problems are solved with common solutions.

Authors

Breanna Kilgore [biography]

Breanna Kilgore is a graduating senior biomedical engineering student at the University of Arkansas. Breanna has participated in an REU at Johns Hopkins university and studied development policy and global health in Switzerland. She has been named an international Gilman scholar, a NSF Honors College Path Scholar, and selected as a Senior of Significance at her university.
Dr. Luis Carlos Estrada Petrocelli Universidad Latina de Panamá, Facultad de Ingeniería [biography]

Luis Estrada Petrocelli earned a Bachelor's in Biomedical Engineering from Universidad Latina de Panamá (ULATINA, Panama, 2004) and a Master's in Biomedical Engineering from Universitat de Barcelona and Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Spain, 2009). After researching at Politecnico di Torino (Italy, 2010), he obtained a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from UPC and University of Zaragoza (Spain, 2016). He completed postdoctoral fellowships at Institut de Bioenginyeria de Catalunya (Spain), and King's College London (UK) (2017-2022). Currently, Estrada Petrocelli is an associate professor at ULATINA and Biomedical Engineering Program Coordinator. His research focuses on biomedical signals and sensors, and respiratory system studies.
Dr. Jay Molino Univesidad Especializada de las Américas [biography]

Jay Jesús Molino is the Dean of the Faculty of Biosciences and Public Health at the Universidad Especializada de las Américas (UDELAS), located in Panama. Dr. Molino received his Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo in 2014.
Molino’s research collaborations focus on the Research of micro/nanocontainers, interfacial processes, biomolecules, and applied research in medical engineering and social dynamics. He is also a senior IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology (EMBS) member.
In addition to his research activities, Dr. Molino strongly advocates for the democratization of science and technology and off-grid development for Panama’s most vulnerable communities. He is also a book author, father of a young scientist, and passionate about legos and amateur rocketry.
Dr. Ernesto Antonio Ibarra Ramirez P.E. http://orcid.org/https://0000-0002-2028-0797 Universidad Latina de Panama [biography]

Dr. Ernesto A. Ibarra R. has a Ph.D. in Biomedicine from the Universidad de Barcelona (UB), a Master's Degree in Biomedical Engineering from the UB and the Universidad Politecnica de Cataluña (UPC), a Master's Degree in Radiological Protection from the Universidad Especializada De Las Americas (UDELAS), Master's Degree in Management Engineering from the University of Louisville (UoL), Bachelor's Degree of the Universidad Latina de Panama (ULATINA). He is a teacher, researcher, and manager of Panama's biomedical science and technology projects. He stands out as Research Professor at Universidad Tecnologica de Panamá (UTP). He is also a professor at UDELAS and the ULATINA in biomedical engineering subjects. In research, he has developed scientific articles on Wireless Body Area Networks (WBAN), Human Energy Harvesting (HEH), Telemedicine, Radiation, and human health.
Dr. ABHISHEK MAHESH APPAJI http://orcid.org/https://0000-0002-1978-6037 B.M.S. College of Engineering [biography]

Dr. Abhishek Appaji is working as R&D Head and Associate Professor at B.M.S. College of Engineering, Bengaluru. He is also serving as Guest faculty at Maastricht University, the Netherlands. He is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Global Entrepreneurship Bootcamp specializing in new ventures leadership. He obtained his Bachelor of Engineering in Medical Electronics with University Rank from BMSCE, Masters of Technology in Information Technology, and a Masters of Engineering (M.E) in Bioinformatics from University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering, Bengaluru. His Ph.D. was in Mental Health and Neurosciences from Maastricht University, the Netherlands which received the best thesis award. Abhishek is a Senior Member of IEEE. He has served in various volunteering positions at IEEE. Currently, he is the Treasurer of the IEEE Bangalore Section, Vice Chair, IEEE SPS Bangalore Chapter, Treasurer of the IEEE Computer Society Bangalore Chapter, execom member of IEEE PES Bangalore Chapter, and advisor for IEEE EMB BMSCE Chapter. Abhishek has received various grants from Indian agencies like DST, DBT, BIRAC, and from abroad. Abhishek has also worked as a research associate at the Centre for Nanoscience and Engineering (CeNSE), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru. He has two patents filed in Medtech Space. He has more than 50 International/National journal publications and conferences to his credit. He has been a part of more than 150+ Invited expert talks at various conferences, forums, and events. He has renowned laurels including IEEE International Best Paper Award in Malaysia, MGH CamTech Jugadathon Awards, Best Nodal Coordinator award, Gandhian Young Technological Innovation Award 2016 at Rastrapathy Bhavan (President of India House) New Delhi, Elderly care Hackathon (the Netherlands), Winner of Class 5 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Global Entrepreneurship Bootcamp, IEEE MGA Young Professional Achievement Award, R10 YP achievement award, DST Inspire Award, etc.
Dr. Rogelio Garcia Contreras University of Arkansas [biography]

Dr. Garcia-Contreras is a Teaching Faculty leading social innovation initiatives at the Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Venture Innovation Department of the Walton College of Business of the University of Arkansas. He holds a doctorate degree from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. Dr. Garcia-Contreras is a member of the Cathedra UNESCO and a visiting scholar at the Master of Social Economy at Universidad Abat Oliba in Barcelona. And a visiting professor at the Master of Microfinance and Impact Investment at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Also in collaboration with Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, he was part of a task force sponsored by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to promote entrepreneurship at the Saharaui Refugee Camps in Northern Africa.

He serves as a board member of several social impact organizations, including the University of Fondwa USA, Partners for Better Housing, Restore Humanity, Magdalene Serenity House, Serve2Perform, Entrepreneurship for All, CACHE NWA, RefleXion Music Series, LatinX on the Rise, and the Sindji Project. He is an advisor to Sustainable Start Up Co. in Madrid and a consultant for ARCORES International.

Along with Dr. Laurence Hare, Dr. Garcia-Contreras hosts Points of Departure, a podcast produce in collaboration with KUAF 91.3 FM, the Northwest Arkansas affiliate of National Public Radio.
Dr. Raj R. Rao University of Arkansas [biography]

Dr. Raj R. Rao is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. He currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Biological Engineering, as an ABET Program Evaluator; and is a member of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Education Committee. His research interests are in the broad area of cellular engineering that utilize interdisciplinary approaches towards better understanding of stem cell fate in the context of regenerative biomedical therapies. He is committed to integration of research and education, and has developed courses and programs that relate to entrepreneurship, service learning and community engagement. He is an elected Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), an elected Fellow of BMES, and Past-President of the Institute of Biological Engineering (IBE). Awards and Honors include NSF-CAREER, Qimonda Professorship, Billingsley Professorship, IBE Presidential Citation for Distinguished Service and University of Arkansas Honors College Distinguished Leadership Award.

Download paper (906 KB)

Are you a researcher? Would you like to cite this paper? Visit the ASEE document repository at peer.asee.org for more tools and easy citations.

» Download paper

« View session