2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Expanding Access to Global Learning for Engineering Students Through an Interdisciplinary Sustainability Program

Presented at International Division (INTL) Technical Session 7: Curriculum Innovation and Pedagogical Design for Global Contexts

Engineering students frequently encounter barriers to studying abroad, including tightly sequenced curricula, heavy prerequisite structures, and the perception that time away from campus delays progress toward the degree. At [INSTITUTION], where the engineering program is fully integrated into the liberal arts, these challenges have historically limited students’ participation in international experiences. To address this limitation, we developed the [NAME] Foreign Study Program (FSP)—a joint initiative between the [ENGINEERING SCHOOL] and the [GERMAN DEPARTMENT]—designed to make global, interdisciplinary learning accessible to engineering students without compromising their technical coursework. The program—now preparing to launch its third cohort after two successful runs—has created new pathways for engineering students to study abroad while exploring sustainability and global citizenship in context.

The [NAME] FSP invites students to explore sustainability and sustainable urban systems through the technical and cultural double-lens. Participants take engineering courses focused on environmental systems and sustainable cities alongside either intensive German language study or cultural coursework taught in English. Based in Berlin—a global model for urban sustainability—the program integrates homestays, excursions, and co-curricular activities that connect engineering principles to lived experiences of sustainable design and everyday environmental practices. This approach enables students to experience sustainability not only as a technical challenge but also as a social, linguistic, and cultural construct.

This paper describes the program’s design and early outcomes, drawing on a qualitative analysis of anonymized student evaluations and application essays, as well as a new alumni survey examining qualitative and quantitative long-term impact. Findings indicate that the program meets or exceeds student expectations and produces transformative learning outcomes, including enhanced intercultural competence, global awareness, and motivation to apply engineering skills to sustainability challenges. At the same time, participation remains limited relative to demand, highlighting the need to expand such opportunities. By presenting both the model and the evidence of its impact, this paper contributes to broader conversations on how international and experiential learning can be meaningfully embedded in engineering curricula to foster globally competent, ethically conscious, socially engaged engineers.

Authors

Dr. Petra Bonfert-Taylor http://orcid.org/0009-0001-0869-5439 Dartmouth College [biography]

Petra Bonfert-Taylor is Professor of Engineering and Associate Dean for Community Success at the
Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College. She earned her Ph.D. in Mathematics from the
Technical University of Berlin and subsequently held a postdoctoral position at the University of Michigan
and a faculty position at Wesleyan University before joining Dartmouth.
Her scholarly background is in geometric function theory and discrete groups; her current work focuses on
engineering education, curriculum design, and broadening access to high-quality STEM education. She
has led multiple large-scale educational initiatives, including NSF-funded efforts to integrate data science
across the undergraduate curriculum and an AAU-funded STEM Teaching Evaluation Demonstration
Project developing more holistic approaches to teaching evaluation.
Professor Bonfert-Taylor has played a central role in creating innovative educational programs at Dartmouth,
including the interdisciplinary Green City Foreign Study Program in Berlin and the Dartmouth Emerging
Engineers (DEE) program, which supports aspiring engineering students and fosters early community
and belonging. She has also contributed extensively to the design of MOOCs and professional certificate
programs in C programming, work that earned her team the 2019 edX Prize for Exceptional Contributions
in Online Teaching and Learning.
She is a Fellow of the Association for Women in Mathematics and has received numerous teaching
and leadership awards, including the 2025 Frank J. Guarini Award for Extraordinary Contributions to
Off-Campus Programs.
Caroline Mahony Dartmouth College [biography]

Caroline Mahony is a recent graduate of Dartmouth College and the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth. Graduating with a BA in Engineering modified with Public Policy with a BE in Energy Engineering, Caroline is passionate about the intersection of technology, governance, policy, and the energy transition.
Petra McGillen Dartmouth College [biography]

Petra S. McGillen is Associate Professor of German Studies at Dartmouth College and works on German literature, media, and culture, ca. 1750 to 1900. Her research focuses on material histories of intellectual and cultural production. In particular, she explores the impact of different forms and media of notation—from doodles to writers’ notebooks, from lists to databases—on writing processes and forms of knowledge generation.

Her first book, The Fontane Workshop: Manufacturing Realism in the Industrial Age of Print (Bloomsbury Academic, 2019), was awarded the Modern Language Association’s Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for the best work in German Studies in 2020. Her other research and teaching interests include print culture, history of information, and the transnational history of journalism.

Professor McGillen holds a Ph.D. in Germanic Languages and Literature from Princeton University. Before coming to the United States, she studied Intellectual History at the University of Sussex in England (M.A.) and European Media Studies at Universität Potsdam in Germany (B.A.). She is deeply invested in making language and cultural learning accessible across disciplinary boundaries. Together with Prof. Petra Bonfert-Taylor, she co-founded the interdisciplinary Green City Foreign Study Program in Berlin, which was recognized in 2025 with the Frank J. Guarini Award for Extraordinary Contributions to Off-Campus Programs.

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