IA Spring 2020 Reflection 3

Emma Brunst

 

For the final IA requirement for the strange and unprecedented Spring 2020 semester, I chose to listen to Allison Spicer’s DAAD Rise Info Session. Allison is a fourth year Industrial and Systems engineering major within Ohio State’s College of Engineering. During this information session, she described this german academic exchange program, which is federally and state funded to give students a new academic experience. Allison completed a summer research position in Germany under a PhD student at one of the local universities. The students are matched with a host student to work under and to explore the city with if they would like. The students are given a monthly stipend (about 750 euros/month) to assist with living expenses and scholarships are available for the program itself. 

Allison’s specific position was a sustainable process engineer at a paint manufacturing plant. She studied and researched different applications and details about the uses and applications of paints and what their impact was on the environment. She was at a technical university in Braunschweig, Germany from May-August of 2019. She described in detail the extensive application/interview process and how the decisions will be made as well as the due dates. The project leads will review all the applications and will rank the potential students on a scale and will then proceed after the ranking is complete.

An experience like this for a current IA student as well as potential future IA students is extraordinary for their schooling, careers, and personal life. This allows the student to fully immerse themselves into another culture for an entire summer as well as advancing their school work as well. In Allison’s case, she was able to pursue an interest in the engineering field as well as learn new things about the German culture. After hearing about her experience, I will most definitely look more into this program and possibly apply in the future!

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