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Global Technology Initiative Study-Tour to Asia at San Jose State University Abstract

Prompted by the outsourcing of knowledge-based jobs in Silicon Valley and elsewhere in the U.S. and by the resulting necessity for students to adapt to and capitalize on the global economy, the College of Engineering at San Jose State University established a one-million dollar Global Technology Initiative (GTI) Study Program to provide American students with a global perspective and understanding of the issues. The initiative has sponsored an annual program study tour for 25 undergraduate students on a two-week all-expense-paid study tour to Taiwan and China during the summers of 2004, 2005 and 2006. We reported our 2004 experience at the 2005 ASEE Annual Conference and developed new and improved study programs for 2005 and 2006. This paper summarizes the programs of the past three years and proposes ways to develop future study programs of a similar nature. The focus is on program development and assessment, with a brief discussion of student selection and logistics.

1. Introduction

The dawn of the 21st century has brought about the rapid global integration of corporations and workforce. Knowledge workers such as engineers compete globally on the basis of both their capabilities and their costs to the employer 1,2. Because American engineers demand high salaries, they need to develop higher-level capabilities in order to be competitive. It is critical that American engineering students understand and prepare themselves for this new environment. To this end, the College of Engineering at San Jose State University (SJSU) established a one-million dollar Global Technology Initiative (GTI) Study Program to educate American students on the development of global enterprise. Business leaders in the high- technology industry with strong business ties in Silicon Valley and the Asia-Pacific region provide financial support for the GTI Study Program.. The study program is structured as a one semester credit course that culminates in a two-week, all-expense-paid study-tour to companies in Asia that have strong ties to Silicon Valley industries. For each of the past three years since 2004, the GTI Study Program has sponsored 25 undergraduate students to Taiwan and China.

The 2004 GTI Study Program experience was reported at the 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition 3. Subsequent to this new and improved study programs were developed for 2005 and 2006. The themes for the 2006 GTI Study Program were expanded to include the following issues: the global economy, sustainable development, and the social responsibility of both global businesses and individual citizens. These three issues will continue as the themes for the 2007 study program when 25 students will travel to India and Singapore. This paper summarizes the study programs of the past three years and proposes ways to develop future study programs of a similar nature. The focus is on program development and assessment, with a brief discussion of student selection and logistics.

This paper is organized as follows. Section 2 summarizes the 2004, 2005 and 2006 annual study programs and points out lessons learned about program development. Section 3 assesses study

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Wei, B., & Tsao, J. (2007, June), Global Technology Initiative Study Tour To Asia At San Jose State University Paper presented at 2007 Annual Conference & Exposition, Honolulu, Hawaii. 10.18260/1-2--2777