About EUROTECH
EUROTECH is a five-year program at the University of Connecticut which includes
a six-month internship in Germany and leads to a dual degree: a BA in German and
a BS in Engineering. EUROTECH is open to any qualified engineering student and
does not require previous knowledge of German.
While designing the EUROTECH program, the faculty consulted some fifteen
engineering schools across the nation that offer instructional programs with
an international dimension. However, EUROTECH is the first to thoroughly link
the German and Engineering majors at all levels of instruction. From the
beginning, students take courses taught by German-speaking engineers.
To ensure that EUROTECH would meet the needs of the engineering industry,
the administrators of EUROTECH invited the presidents of German and US firms
to join an advisory board that would oversee the program, assist in its
development, and assure appropriate preparation for the students cross-cultural
work assignments.
The University's initiative was received with great enthusiasm on the part of
the CEOs. Daniel Dechamps, President of Trumpf, Inc. is convinced that "with
the world getting smaller every day, EUROTECH is one way to make sure our
people are prepared to be leaders in the international market for technical
products."
Gottfried Kuester, President of PTR-Precision Technologies, Inc., commented:
"The EUROTECH program is just what is needed in an ever-increasing global market.
The engineer of today and even more so of the future has to be proficient not only
in his technical field but has to have a good working knowledge of computers and
at least one major foreign language and understand the associated culture of the
country and its people."
George Price, Director of Advanced Projects at Sikorsky Aircraft Division, pointed
out that "the business of Sikorsky is increasingly international, with respect to
both markets and suppliers. We have many specific examples of the value of language
skills, and our best interests are clearly served by being able to employ engineers
who have had the type of education that is offered by EUROTECH."
A paragraph about the current enrollment in the program, percent of total, growth...
Upon their graduation, EUROTECH engineers will bring not just sophisticated technical
know-how to their jobs but also the foreign language skills and an international
awareness that American companies are finding more and more desirable. The internship
experience in Germany is structured in such a way that students become familiar with
the internationally admired German apprenticeship system ("Lehrlingsausbildung").
EUROTECH graduates will have the knowledge and experience to play important roles
in the ongoing efforts to revamp the American system of labor training.
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