Increased global awareness in architectural engineering students through international research experiences

A current National Science Foundation project on international research experiences for students that is awarded to the architectural engineering (AE) program in Nebraska aims to take a group of students to Turkey for an immersive research experience for several weeks in three consecutive summers. While there are specific research goals for this project, there are also educational goals in terms of impact on the students' global awareness, confidence, communication skills, leadership skills, and future success in working in a global market. This paper presents the results of three different surveys: 1) Survey A is designed to collect basic demographic data as well as other relevant information regarding the students' life experiences prior to this project; 2) Survey B is given after several information sessions and right before departure, testing the readiness of the participants; and 3) Survey C is given after the trip. Modified surveys, where trip related questions are excluded, are also given to a control group who has not participated in this international experience. By comparing the participants' answers to similar questions pre and post survey, as well as comparing to non-participant student results, it is aimed to measure the impact of the project on the students' perceptions on global affairs, diversity, and unconscious bias. Finally, the results of this first year study are used to identify the project's success in improving the AE students' global awareness as well as identifying ways to improve the impact of the program for the future years.