Penn State and INTEC to collaborate on international engineering education

PR Log (Press Release) – Dec 08, 2008 – The Pennsylvania State University and the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC) in the Dominican Republic have recently unveiled a partnership that will benefit each university’s education, research, and technology initiatives.

Michael Immel, Director of Corporate Relations for the Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Penn State, presented these two new strategic alliances at INTEC in November to university and government officials.  Ten Penn State industrial engineering students, along with their faculty advisor, Vittal Prabu, were also present as part of the cultural immersion aspect of their IE 497 course.  

Immel discussed the new 2+2 program, which will allow students from INTEC to attend Penn State and complete their bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Biological Engineering, Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Engineering Science, or Nuclear Engineering.  This cooperative program was created in an effort to provide students with the opportunity to study majors not available to them at INTEC. To qualify for the 2+2 program, prospective students must successfully complete two years of engineering courses at INTEC and then enter Penn State to complete their degree requirements. The program officially begins in August 2009.

The second focus of Immel’s presentation was the INTEC Haas Technical Center.  Immel is working on behalf of the Penn State industrial engineering department to establish the Center in the Dominican Republic. The purpose of the Center is to serve as a resource for educating engineering students in manufacturing processes and advancing the understanding of global manufacturing through the international collaboration. The Center will foster international relationships by enabling faculty to interact with INTEC faculty and students by teaching short-courses and partnering for research projects.

Overall, both the 2+2 program and the INTEC Haas Technical Center will benefit all by encouraging international interaction and enabling the students of both universities to be immersed in a diverse learning environment, preparing them to be world-class industrial engineers ready for the global economy.

By participating in outreach endeavors like these two programs, Penn State IE continues its strategic mission to prepare internationally fluent students, foster internationally renowned faculty, collaborate internationally on research, and reach out to improve its global reputation.