Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

International Engineering: Collaboration on Hydrologic Modeling Applications in Central Mexico

Advice

The following items are responses to the question "What advice would you give to students considering participation in the Mexico Engineering study abroad program in the future?"

  1. Understand what is required to make the project/program a success. Ask question, and take advantage of having a mentoring relationship with a professor.

 

  1. Be open.  A great amount of things can happen for you if you are open to chances and opportunities.  Be willing to take a chance and do something that stretches you and makes you work harder.  Study hard because you'll need all the help you can get.

 

  1. Definately do it if the chance is there. Don't put it off because circumstances will very likely change and that opportunity might not be there next time around. Don't be shy if you don't speak spanish. The people are friendly and will help you out the best they can.

 

  1. I would just advise the students to be prepared to have some hiccups in their projects simply due to the limited communication available, as I mentioned above. I would tell them to try and accomplish as much as possible on their own, but be prepared to make as much use of their face-to-face time as they possibly can because that is where the real progress is made.

 

  1. It is one of the best experiences, technically, culturally, and leadership-wise that you can have at the university level.

 

  1. It is one of the best experiences, technically, culturally, and leadership-wise that you can have at the university level.

 

  1. They should be well prepared to learn and teach from the Mexican students. They should be humble.

 

  1. The more Spanish you know prior to the experience, the better.  I sill feel that I got a lot out of the experience, but it was small relative to those that knew Spanish because I didn't understand much of what was going on.

 

  1. Do it.

 

  1. Do it. If you get the chance, it is a great experience that will lead to exciting new opportunities in the world of engineering.  You will have the great opportunity to see how engineering can improve the living conditions in foreign countries.

 

  1. Money should not be a reason not to go.  First of all, there are generous grants to help students pay for the expenses of the trip, but most importantly, the experience and broadened knowledge that this class will bring is worth far more than the couple hundred dollars saved by not going.  This class gave me a better working knowledge of engineering and it's real world applications, as well as a hightened awareness of the culture and need for engineering work in other countries outside the U.S. 

 

  1. Make sure you learn engineering spanish.

 

  1. Learn Spanish, learn hydrology, learn WMS, and then have fun.

 

  1. Just be sure to do it.  It is very rewarding because you learn so many things you couldn't learn in a typical class setting.

 

  1. Do it. Its Great

 

  1. Enjoy the time you have there, don't be shy, make friends, know your stuff, practice your presentations, study spanish engineering words.

 

  1. I would recommend the program to anyone in the CE program (and I did).  It is a unique and valuable experience. 

 

  1. Do it, and get involved as much as you can, even if your other classes need to suffer.  Oh, and don't get sick in Mexico.

 

  1. Communicate early with your Mexican team mates.

 

  1. Do it!  It's a chance to get outside of the classroom.  It's fun, and very educational.  It looks good on a resume.  It helps develop social and leadership skills.

 

  1. Mastery of the spanish language is not necessary; however, a basic understanding will help one get more out of both the academic and cultural aspects of the program.  Establish good lines of communication with the mexican counterparts early on and deligate assignments.

 

  1. Definitely do it!

 

  1. Apply yourself and prepare well so that you can learn as much as possible.

 

  1. I'd say you should do it.  You will not regret doing it, but you will most likely regret missing this opportunity.

 

  1. The biggest thing that discourages students is money.  When you have so little, it can be hard to justify spending it on what may seem like a vacation abroad.  But it's much more than that.  The lessons you'll learn are worth it.  Not only do you gain valuable experiences in global engineering, you develop priceless friendships that make you look back and think, "I can't believe I considered NOT doing this."

 

  1. Do it! You won't regret it.

 

  1. This is a great opportunity to apply what you have learned in a real life environment.  Make sure the goals of the selected engineering problem are clearly identified up front.

 

  1. My advice would be don't do the bare minimum.  The class becomes fun when you take an interest in your project and try to do the best possible job.  Communicate early with your counterparts in Mexico and start forming a relationship with them that will be strengthened when you visit at the end of the semester.

 

  1. The program goes far beyond a project about water resources.  Even if you aren't necessarily interested in water, do it anyway because the teamwork and collaboration and presentation skills can be used in any discipline.

 

  1. Start early learning vocabulary words.  This was done with only a slight emphasis.  I wish I had known more hydrology related words and how to express WMS ideas in Spanish.

 

  1. I would whole heartedly recommend it to any student.  I would do it again myself had I the opportunity.