Global Clinic Program starts in Puerto Rico.

As companies expand their operations abroad, higher education has responded with new programs to prepare students for work in a time of unprecedented global demands for energy, food and shelter. A key element of HMC’s strategic vision is to ensure that its graduates are among those prepared to meet these and other global challenges.

Tony Bright, John Leland Atwood Professor of Engineering Science and chair of the Department of Engineering, is spearheading the new HMC Global Clinic Program with two pilot projects beginning this summer in Puerto Rico. Company sponsors Hewlett-Packard and Amgen, both multinational firms with facilities in Puerto Rico, will be working on two separate projects with teams of engineering students from HMC and the University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez (UPRM), located in the western part of the island of Puerto Rico.

The Global Clinics build upon the successful Clinic Program, an internationally recognized program initiated at HMC in 1963 that has involved over 250 organizations and more than 1,000 completed projects. For the Global Clinic, HMC is partnering with Pitzer College, which has particular expertise in study abroad programs. HMC has worked with Pitzer to increase the number of Mudders who study abroad in general and has seen considerable progress since a 2001 faculty initiative paved the way for additional student participation. Carol Brandt, director of international and special programs at Pitzer, is now working with Bright on the Global Clinic Program. “We discussed how to add a language and cultural dimension to the project so students wouldn’t just be sitting in their own country communicating over e-mail or other distant forms of communication, but would actually have the chance to be in one another’s countries and cultures,” said Brandt.

To facilitate the initial bonding process—the “forming, storming and norming” stages—the Clinic projects begin with an eight-week summer session. HMC students will spend June 5 to July 2 at UPRM, and UPRM students will return with Mudders and spend July 2–28 on the Pitzer/HMC campuses. HMC students will learn Spanish while in Puerto Rico and will also visit Amgen and HP facilities there, as well as take coursework in intercultural communications. UPRM students will study their second language (English) while in the U.S. and take a similar intercultural communications course.

“By the end of summer, I want them to be an effective team,” said Bright, who said he thinks the virtual team component will be the biggest challenge. “When they go back to their campuses in the fall, they will know each other very well. Even though they will be working in virtual mode by that time—through e-mail, videoconferencing, etc.—they will be past those initial stages of team formation, and be on their way.

“The intercultural understanding that the students develop as a result of the mini-study abroad summer experience will form a foundation of trust essential for working the project successfully for the rest of the year,” Brandt said.

Bright expects that the projects requested by Amgen and HP will be challenging for the teams. HP is asking the students to help model a liquid coating and imprinting process for transistor applications. The Amgen project involves a characterization of disposable technologies for alternate manufacturing containers.

During the fall and spring semesters, student teams will be in weekly contact with each other via e-mail, video and teleconferencing, and multi-conferencing with the company liaison. A progress report is due in December 2006 in conjunction with a half-day videoconference project review. Final reports in Spanish (written by HMC students) and English (written by UPRM students) and deliverables are due in May, with a final presentation at the respective company.

“Mutual respect within the team is built from understanding of each other’s language and culture” said Bright. “That level of respect is an important part of what Global Clinic is about.”Amgen Clinic team member and HMC engineering major Mackenzie Miller ’07 said she’s excited to work with students and professionals from different cultural backgrounds and improve her Spanish-speaking skills. She was one of the six HMC students chosen from a pool of 17 applicants. Students were chosen based on their interests and expertise, and each team has an HMC student already fluent in Spanish.

Heather Schalliol ’07 is also a member of the Amgen Clinic team. “It’s been my dream to further my Spanish-speaking skills in an engineering application. Global Clinic is the perfect blend of these two fields,” she said.

Even though Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States, relatively few Puerto Ricans use English as their main language; the large majority of residents living in metropolitan areas are bilingual, or have a functional use of spoken and written English. Puerto Rico is the perfect start for a cross-cultural experience for these reasons and because there aren’t some of the immigration issues that the college will face on non-U.S. soil—visas and information sharing across borders, for example. Still, the arrangements have been more complex than the usual Clinic project. “I was the Engineering Clinic director for six years, and I can tell you that setting up these Puerto Rican projects is an order of magnitude harder than setting up the other projects,” said Bright.

Transportation, summer student health insurance, and accommodations here and in Puerto Rico are just some of the extra issues these projects raised. “But there’s a sense that we’re starting something new and innovative. While others may have global engineering programs, or are doing student exchanges or internships, no one is doing anything quite like this.”

“Harvey Mudd College has a distinguished record of innovative engineering education. It’s great the way we are taking up today’s challenge to prepare students for work and cooperation across cultures,” said Daniel Goroff, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty. “Employers know how important international project teams are for getting research and development done these days. So everyone is excited about the way these two pilots will show how we can take over 40 years of experience running successful Clinics at HMC and go global with it.”

In the past, the Clinic Program has attracted visiting students from ESIEE in Paris and Kogakuin University in Tokyo who work on HMC Clinic teams. HMC students have also spent summers in Tokyo working with Kogakuin students on projects sponsored by Japanese companies.

If these first cross-cultural Clinic projects prove successful and beneficial for all involved, Bright expects to expand the Global Clinic Program to perhaps 10 projects in five different countries. Companies and countries alike are showing strong interest in the program. Representatives from the Singapore Economic Development Board have already made several visits to campus, thanks to contacts made by Wah Lim, HMC Board of Trustees member and chair of the Clinic Advisory Committee. Additionally, HMC has been in contact with Tsinghua Univer-sity in Beijing, considered one of the best schools in China. “Almost every company and university I’ve talked to is in favor of this and wants to get on board,” Bright said.

Bright will be working with a consultant to develop a business plan that will articulate the next five years of the program and to make sure the organizational infrastructure is in place to support it.

“What HMC and UPRM students are doing on these Clinic projects is exactly what most engineers will be required to do in the future—work on global, virtual teams,” said Bright. “We have the perfect vehicle, the Clinic, for exploring the next direction for engineering education.”

Calling out around the world...

Alumni who have experience working in global teams are encouraged to share their expertise and advice with Tony Bright (abright@hmc.edu). Your suggestions will be invaluable as HMC works to make the Global Clinic Program a success.