2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Building Engineers’ Global Competency Via Lab-Kit-Based Virtual Exchange

Presented at International Division (INTL) Technical Session 1: Developing Global Competency in Engineering Education

Virtual exchange (VE) is an educational collaboration between international partner institutions that facilitates global perspectives among students. Although VE is becoming more common in higher education across disciplines, it is unusual to find a VE embedded in engineering courses, particularly essential courses. A primary obstacle to implementing engineering VE’s is that many required engineering courses utilize hands-on, lab-based learning that is difficult to translate into remote collaboration. A novel solution is mailing physical artifacts between institutions, allowing all students to interact with the same educational hardware whilst communicating virtually. A five-week VE collaboration between the University of X (UX) in the United States and Y University (YU) in Egypt was executed within Fluid Mechanics (EGN 3353C), a required undergraduate lab course within UX’s Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department. The VE implements fully-contained, desktop-scale lab kits capable of running 12 unique experiments that demonstrate energy and fluids principles with the fidelity of traditional brick-and-mortar laboratory equipment. 140 lab kits were designed and manufactured at UX, and 18 kits were shipped to YU. Students at UX and YU collaborated to conduct experiments, evaluate data, and report the results. This paper reports the effectiveness of lab-kit-based VE within a required engineering course to increase international competency of undergraduate mechanical and aerospace engineering students based in the United States. Results are quantified through the International Critical Thinking and International Communication Attitudes and Beliefs Survey, a Likert scale survey instrument developed by UX. The survey was administered to 111 UX students enrolled in EGN3353C prior to and following the VE interaction. Using two-tailed Wilcoxon signed rank testing, survey responses from before and after the VE were evaluated for significant statistical change. Based on previously performed experiments, positive significant change indicating an increased cultural competency was expected. The results imply that lab-kit-based VE is effective for both delivering critical engineering coursework and providing the students the opportunity to develop global perspectives without leaving their home institution. This program’s success suggests that VE should be adopted in more required engineering courses.

Authors

Nicole Kershner University of Florida [biography]

Nicole Kershner is an M.S. Mechanical Engineering student at the University of Florida, the senior graduate research assistant in GatorKits Lab at UF, and was a visiting researcher at Seoul National University in South Korea. She is the 2024 winner of the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering Dean Cammy Abernathy Community & Inclusion Award.
Dr. Matthew J. Traum http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1105-0439 University of Florida, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Department, USA [biography]

Dr. Matthew J. Traum is a Master Lecturer and Instructional Full Professor in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida (UF) where he leads GatorKits Laboratory as PI. He is a Fellow of Sigma Xi, the International Scientific Research Honor Society, and he is an elected Sigma Xi Director representing the Southeast Region. Dr. Traum is an experienced educator, administrator, fundraiser, and researcher. As of 2026, he has co-authored 1 book chapter, published 90 refereed journal and conference papers, written an engineering design Open Educational Resource (OER) textbook, and attracted over $1.43 Million in funding as PI or Co-PI. Prior to UF, Dr. Traum was founding CEO of Engineer Inc., a successful education technology social enterprise and pioneer in STEM instructional lab kits for remote learning.

Previously, Dr. Traum was an Associate Professor and Director of Engineering Programs at Philadelphia University. He also served on the Milwaukee School of Engineering faculty as well as co-founding the Mechanical & Energy Engineering Department at the University of North Texas – Denton.

Traum received Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in mechanical engineering from MIT, and he holds two B.S. degrees from the UC Irvine in mechanical engineering and aerospace engineering.
Waleed Ahmed Abdelfadeel http://orcid.org/https://0000-0002-1589-660X Aswan University, Faculty of Energy Engineering, Egypt
Prof. Walid Aniss Aissa Aswan University, Faculty of Energy Engineering, Egypt [biography]

Walid Aissa is an Emeritus Professor, Dept. of Mech. Power Engineering, Faculty of Energy Engineering-Aswan, Aswan University, Egypt. He has a Ph.D. in Aeronautical Engineering from Dept. of Aeronautical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, Egypt on 1999. He worked as engineer in Arab British Dynamics Co., Joint Venture between “Arab Organizat ion Industrization - Egypt” and “British Aerospace-UK”, (1985- 1997). After that, He moved to Aswan University (1997 till now). He taught and made research in Egypt and Faculty of Engineering-Rabigh, King Abdul Aziz University, KSA. He had scientific missions in Department of Mechanical System Engineering, Gunma University, Japan and
Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, College of Engineering, University of North Texas, USA. He is author or co-author of more than 30 published scientific papers ( Journals and conferences).
Dr. Hesham S. Abdelmohsen ِAswan University, Faculty of Energy Engineering, Egypt [biography]

Dr. Hesham Sayed Abdel Mohsen is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Power Engineering at the Faculty of Energy Engineering, Aswan University, Egypt. He earned his Ph.D. from Minia University in 2016, with earlier degrees from Aswan University. His expertise includes energy and renewable energy systems, turbomachinery, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), internal combustion engines, hydrogen energy, and HVAC systems.
Dr. Abdel Mohsen has extensive academic and industrial experience, having previously worked as a maintenance and technical administrator engineer before joining academia in 2011. His research focuses on experimental and numerical studies in energy conversion systems, solar chimney power plants, hydrogen-assisted engines, turbomachinery, and photovoltaic cooling in arid climates. He has published widely in international journals and conferences and is actively involved in national and international research and educational collaboration projects.
Salah Algabli University of Florida [biography]

Dr. Salah Algabli is an Associate Instructional Professor of Arabic Studies and Educational Technology at the University of Florida. Dr. Algabli holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on online learning from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and an Ed.D. in Educational Technology and AI from the University of Florida. His research focuses on artificial intelligence, virtual reality, online learning environments, blended learning, and innovative language pedagogy. He has also developed and led virtual exchange programs that connect students across cultures, promoting intercultural competence and global collaboration. His work explores the integration of emerging technologies to enhance language learning, student engagement, and accessibility in higher education.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 24, 2026

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