Memorandum of understanding signed with Technical University-Darmstadt in Germany

UTSA signed a memorandum of understanding in October to begin an exchange program with Technical University-Darmstadt in Germany. The memorandum signing is part of a greater mission between the City of San Antonio and the City of Darmstadt to build cultural and educational bridges through a sister-cities agreement. The UTSA College of Engineering’s Student Success Center is currently looking into a possible study abroad student exchange with Darmstadt in the coming years.

“We are thrilled that UTSA is partnering with TU-Darmstadt,” said Jill Ford, assistant dean of the College of Engineering’s Student Success Center. “The possibility of an exchange program opens up so many possibilities for our students to visit and gain a new engineering perspective outside of the United States. Studying abroad in a city like Darmstadt would give them a unique perspective on the engineering problems they come across in the classroom.”

The exchange agreement encompasses student mobility, joint faculty projects, collaborative research, and academic cooperation between the two universities. UTSA and TU-Darmstadt have similar profiles in enrollment, academics, and research. Additionally, UTSA and TU-Darmstadt have the top cybersecurity programs in the United States and Germany, respectively.

“Partnerships such as this exchange agreement with TU-Darmstadt are critical to UTSA’s commitment to being a world-engaged institution,” said Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Mauli Agrawal. “For the benefit of our students and community, we must cooperate and collaborate across borders and across oceans to address the complex challenges of the future.”

UTSA representatives Agrawal and René Zenteno, vice provost for international initiatives, had the opportunity to visit the FraunHofer Secure Information Technology research institute, a German research organization with 69 institutes throughout Europe and seven centers in the U.S.

“As we prepare our students for a global workforce, exchanging ideas and expertise with some of the best of the best around the world is an exciting opportunity for UTSA,” Zenteno said.

“This partnership will also support UTSA in becoming a globally recognized university.”

The city and university agreements align with the city’s economic development strategy, while strengthening cultural and educational ties.

“This is a groundbreaking agreement between the University of Texas at San Antonio and Technical University – Darmstadt that will bring a new level of global literacy to the next generation of leaders,” San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said. “Specifically, the memorandum of understanding will broaden educational exchanges with the prestigious research university and increase opportunities for exploring educational best practices that will lead to international collaboration.”

Engineering students study, complete certificate at Shanghai, China, university

Six UTSA engineering students spent 22 days this past summer studying at the Shanghai University of Electric Power in Shanghai, China. In addition to the study abroad students, UTSA attendees included student mentor and UTSA Engineering alumna Brandy Alger, Ph.D. student John Parsi, and Chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department CJ Qian.

At the end of the study abroad session, the UTSA students presented their final projects to their classmates and representatives from Shanghai University of Electric Power including University Administrator Professor Li, officials from the International Exchange and Cooperation Offices Professors Zeng and Wang and their staffs, Dean of the College of Automation Engineering Dr. Yang, and seven local students who took part in Qian’s class. All UTSA students who took part in this study abroad received their certificates for completing Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) training.

Colombian engineering students, UTSA engineering students trade places in exchange initiative

UTSA students who participated in the Colombia exchange included Emmanuel Rubio Perez, Karina Rangel, Javier Guerrero, Kasai Omar, Seamus MacFarland, Mazen Batooq, and Katrina Estrada.

This past summer, ten engineering students from Universidad EAN in Bogotá, Colombia, made San Antonio their home, and seven UTSA engineering students made Bogotá theirs.

As part of the 100,000 Strong in the Americas Initiative, a U.S. Department of State program aimed at increasing opportunities for academic mobility between the U.S. and other countries in the Western Hemisphere, the Colombian students dedicated two weeks to learning about engineering practices in the U.S. and experiencing life as UTSA students. At the same time, a group of UTSA engineering students had the chance to experience life as a Colombian engineering student when they traveled to South America and studied for two weeks at Universidad EAN.

The two universities collaborated to draft a proposal for the initiative and won a $25,000 grant to create an exchange program.

“We were thrilled to have the students from Universidad EAN at UTSA,” said UTSA Office of International Programs Executive Director Lisa Marie Gomez. “To be selected for the 100,000 Strong Initiative underscores UTSA’s commitment to internationalization and growing global competitiveness.”

The Obama Administration in 2011 created the 100,000 Strong Initiative for universities that demonstrate the greatest commitment and innovation toward increasing study opportunities between the U.S. and countries in the Western Hemisphere.

“The main goal here is to get students motivated to broaden their perspective, learn how to work with people from different cultures, and for students to see how they can work together to achieve common goals,” said Marjorie Maia, international officer for Universidad EAN.

A typical day for the Colombian students consisted of attending a customized English class provided by the Office of ESL Services with a focus on engineering-specific terms. Afterward, they attended engineering courses on soil contamination and sustainability. The UTSA engineering students had a similar experience when they traveled to Bogotá - they took specialized Spanish-language courses and also attended a soil contamination and sustainability class with UTSA professor Sazzad Bin-Shafique and a Universidad EAN professor.

The Colombian students had the opportunity to see what UTSA has to offer, including a campus environment they don’t have at home.

“Campus life here teaches you an independence I haven’t had before,” said student Camila Zuluaga. “Here, I’ve had a complete experience. It’s been extremely interesting to see what life is like in another country, to see how people here study and how they live.”

In Bogotá, attending university in a city with 10 million people doesn’t provide the same atmosphere a student gets at a U.S. university, said Alberto Uribe, a Universidad EAN professor.

“I had one student tell me she felt like she was in a Hollywood movie,” Maia said.

The UTSA engineering students who traveled to Colombia also got to go out and explore Bogotá and a number of other cities in the country.

“I most enjoyed experiencing Colombia with our Colombian classmates and friends,” said UTSA engineering student Kasai Omar. “From trying new dishes at Casa Vieja to biking through the center of Bogotá, each new story was made better by the Colombian students who took the time to share them with us. The representative from EAN, Marjorie, was a wonderful guide for us as well; we could not have done the trip without her.”

But the exchange is much more than a travel adventure. It’s an opportunity to develop skills and ideas.

“To me, my experience at UTSA has helped in the sense of networking with other professionals in our fields. Being here helps you recognize some of the problems your country faces and how to tackle them in a way we might not have thought of before,” said Colombian student Nicolas Sarmiento.

Like UTSA international programs leadership, Uribe said he, too, hopes this exchange can be a stepping-stone to future collobrations. The engineering class was chosen because it’s the newest department at EAN. Others at the university have already expanded their internationalization efforts. The partnership with UTSA’s team was an ideal match.

Uribe added, “We wanted to bring the engineering students to the same level as the other students at our university so we’re looking forward to exploring other possibilities of cooperation with UTSA.”