About EUROTECH

EUROTECH is a five-year program at the University of Connecticut which includes a six-month internship in Germany and leads to a dual degree: a BA in German and a BS in Engineering. EUROTECH is open to any qualified engineering student and does not require previous knowledge of German.

While designing the EUROTECH program, the faculty consulted some fifteen engineering schools across the nation that offer instructional programs with an international dimension. However, EUROTECH is the first to thoroughly link the German and Engineering majors at all levels of instruction. From the beginning, students take courses taught by German-speaking engineers.

To ensure that EUROTECH would meet the needs of the engineering industry, the administrators of EUROTECH invited the presidents of German and US firms to join an advisory board that would oversee the program, assist in its development, and assure appropriate preparation for the students cross-cultural work assignments.

The University's initiative was received with great enthusiasm on the part of the CEOs. Daniel Dechamps, President of Trumpf, Inc. is convinced that "with the world getting smaller every day, EUROTECH is one way to make sure our people are prepared to be leaders in the international market for technical products."

Gottfried Kuester, President of PTR-Precision Technologies, Inc., commented: "The EUROTECH program is just what is needed in an ever-increasing global market. The engineer of today and even more so of the future has to be proficient not only in his technical field but has to have a good working knowledge of computers and at least one major foreign language and understand the associated culture of the country and its people."

George Price, Director of Advanced Projects at Sikorsky Aircraft Division, pointed out that "the business of Sikorsky is increasingly international, with respect to both markets and suppliers. We have many specific examples of the value of language skills, and our best interests are clearly served by being able to employ engineers who have had the type of education that is offered by EUROTECH."

EUROTECH has become a popular major amongst engineering students. In 1995, 10% of incoming engineering students enrolled in this dual-degree program. This number is expected to grow as students increasingly realize that foreign language competence is an asset for their careers.

Upon their graduation, EUROTECH engineers will bring not just sophisticated technical know-how to their jobs but also the foreign language skills and an international awareness that American companies are finding more and more desirable. The internship experience in Germany is structured in such a way that students become familiar with the internationally admired German apprenticeship system ("Lehrlingsausbildung"). EUROTECH graduates will have the knowledge and experience to play important roles in the ongoing efforts to revamp the American system of labor training.

Funding

The EUROTECH Program at the University of Connecticut began in the fall of 1993 with a grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE). The grant was for three years for a total of $250,000. The interest in the program from industry and students caused the University to establish EUROTECH permanently. Sikorsky Aircraft and Music Memories have established scholarships for students in the program. United Technology Corporation and Bayer Corporation contribute to its operating budget.

Directors

Marty Wood

Friedemann Weidauer was born in Stuttgart, Germany. He has a B.A. in Classics from Reed College, the "Zwischenprüfung" in German Studies and American Studies from the Freie Universität Berlin, and a M.A. and Ph.D. in German from the University of Wisconsin. Before joining the EUROTECH staff in the summer of 1998, he taught at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1993-1998) and Miami University (1992-1993). His teaching and research interests are in the area of contemporary German culture. He teaches the modular courses German 220-222 that introduce the EUROTECH students to technical and scientific German.