Global Engineering Competency in Context: Situations and Behaviors
Online Journal for Global Engineering Education
Global Engineering Competency in Context: Situations and Behaviors
Brent K . Jesiek 0
Sang Eun Woo 0
Andrea Mazzurco 0
0 Purdue University
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Global Engineering Competency in Context: Situations and Behaviors
Cover Page Footnote
An earlier version of this paper appeared in the Proceedings of the 2013 ASEE International Forum, Atlanta,
GA, June 22, 2013. All unmodified portions of this paper are republished with permission from the American
Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), the original copyright holder. The a uthors gratefully acknowledge
support for aspects of this work under National Science Foundation (NSF) grant EEC-1160455, “Global
Engineering Competency: Definitions, Development Paths, and Situational Assessment.” We extend
appreciation to affiliates of the Global Engineering Education Collaboratory (GEEC) for their extensive
assistance with this project, and anonymous reviewers whose thoughtful feedback helped us improve the final
draft.
Thi s article is available in Online Journal for Global Engineering Education: http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/ojgee/vol8/iss1/1
Brent K. Jesiek
Assistant Professor
School of Engineering Education
Purdue University
Qin Zhu
Graduate Research Assistant
School of Engineering Education
Purdue University
Sang Eun Woo
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychological Sciences
Purdue University
Julia Thompson
Ph.D. Candidate
School of Engineering Education
Purdue University
Andrea Mazzurco
Graduate Research Assistant
School of Engineering Education
Purdue University
Engineering graduates encounter worlds of
professional practice that are increasingly global in
character. This new reality poses challenges for
engineering educators and employers, who are
faced with the formidable task of preparing
engineers to be more effective in diverse national
and cultural contexts. In response, many
commentators have proposed lists of attributes or
competencies deemed important or even essential
for global engineering work. However, such lists
have tended to lack explicit grounding in empirical
studies of engineering practice, including typical
kinds of work situations and related behavioral
requirements. As a step toward establishing a more
robust definition and developmental theory of global
engineering competency, this paper reports results
from a wide-ranging literature review on
engineering practice in global context. The findings
are organized around three main contextual
dimensions of global engineering competency:
technical coordination; engineering cultures; and
ethics, standards, and regulations. Particular efforts
are made to relate our findings to prior discussions
of what it means to be a globally competent
engineer, while further illustrating each dimension
by giving examples drawn from interviews with
practicing engineers. The paper concludes with a
review of ongoing and future work, including how
our findings are inspiring creation of situational
prompts and activities for both assessment and
instructional uses.
INTRODUCTION
Whether working on multi-national project teams,
navigating geographically dispersed supply chains,
or engaging customers and clients abroad,
engineering graduates encounter worlds of
professional practice that are increasingly global in
character. This new reality poses challenges for
engineering educators and employers, who are
faced with the formidable task of preparing
engineers to be more effective in diverse national
and cultural contexts. In response, more global
learning opportunities are being made available to
engineering students, as reflected in gradual yet
steady increases in the number of global
engineering programs and participating students.1
Many companies also offer professional
development opportunities to help their employees
learn foreign languages and cultures, cultural
etiquette, and global leadership skills. Nonetheless,
there remain questions about what specific
capabilities are most important for global engineers,
and what types of training and work experiences
best cultivate such capabilities.
One typical response to such questions involves
developing lists of attributes or competencies
deemed important or even essential for global
engineering work. However, such lists have tended
to lack explicit grounding in empirical studies of
engineering practice. Even when such possible
links are explored, scholars face a large and diffuse
body of literature discussing the manifold
challenges faced by engineers and other technical
professionals when working globally. Those wishing
to carry out their own original research on global
engineering work face still more hurdles, including
significant overhead costs related to data collection
and analysis, and considerable variations in the
nature of professional practice depending on the
geographic locale, industry sector, job role, and
firms being studied. In response to these
challenges and in line with a broader “turn towa (...truncated)