School of Technology Newsblog

Michigan Technological University has a long history of recruiting students from other nations. Michigan Tech’s current international student enrollment is its largest ever—1,024—nearly 15 percent of all students on campus. And several programs are adding to that legacy, according to Thy Yang, director of International Programs and Services (IPS).

One of the newer programs partners with Brazil, she says.

“We are involved with Brazil’s Science without Borders program,” Yang explains. “Currently, we’ve got 10 students on campus who are getting all tuition and room and board paid by the Brazilian government for one year, to see if Tech is right for them.”

Under the program, students must choose from schools that focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), and they must have a high level of proficiency in English.

“They come as undergraduates, but they can return as master’s students, if they like what they experience,” Yang says.

School of Technology faculty member and Brazilian native Aurenice Oliveira is helping with the program,. Oliveira says it is relatively easy working with the students, as “they are highly selected in Brazil,” before coming to Tech, where they face a much different academic and social culture.

“Brazil has very few small college towns,” Oliveira says. “Most of their universities are in big cities, and then there’s all this snow here, of course.”

She’s helped recruit students from Brazilian universities for several years now, and she’s had friends and graduate students assisting IPS at college fairs in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, discussing the differences in academics here and there.

“Brazil stresses exams more,” Oliveira says. “They give fewer assignments, unlike here where the exams are shorter, but there are many more homework assignments.”

Brazilian students take a five-day common entrance exam just to qualify for universities, she says, similar to students in India and China.

Many Students from China

Speaking of China, it remains Tech’s greatest international success story. This year, 230 graduate students and 236 undergraduates are enrolled, making them the third largest student population on campus. And that ratio of graduate to undergraduate students is unusual, Yang says.

“In tech schools, it is predominately graduate students coming from China,” she explains. Yang has just returned from a visit to Beijing, where they had a predeparture session at the US Embassy, prepping the students for the move. Tech has other programs in place to help students succeed, Yang says, such as English as a Second Language (ESL).

At a recent 8 a.m. session, seven Chinese students seemed eager to learn in Clare Zuraw’s ESL writing class. First, she had them warm up by combining a couple of sentences using “which” or “where.” One student wrote: “New York City, which is often called the Big Apple, is known as a cultural center of the US.”

Next, in a discussion circle led by management major Xiao Luo, they debated: “Should science majors pay less for tuition than art majors?”

Their answers reveal their reasons for choosing Michigan Tech. “I chose economics because I am interested in graduate school here,” says Shang Gao. “I chose mechanical engineering because I don’t like business,” Hao Qin remarks. Around the circle they go. Influencers include their parents, friends, relatives—and the bottom line.

“I would like to go into hotel management in graduate school,” says Ya Luo, a management major. He Xuan wants to be an architect, thus her civil engineering major. A master’s degree is in her future, too, she says.

“Tech is kind to international students,” says Chenxi Wu, an environmental engineering major. “It is progressive. They help international students with their studies.”

The Chinese students also chose this home a long way from their home because it is peaceful, and they can study here. It is great, “except for the weather,” says Wu.

There is a long tradition of Chinese students attending Michigan Tech. The Chinese Student Club existed in 1916. The current group of students was surprised and pleased by that fact.

Successful Thai Recruiting

More and more students are coming to Tech from another part of Asia, through the pipeline the Graduate School has created with Thailand. And, it’s come a long way in a short time.

“We have 14 Thai graduate students on campus,” says Jacque Smith, director of marketing for the Graduate School. “That’s up from zero in the mid-2000s.”

Smith relies on alumni in Thailand and current students at Tech to help bolster enrollment from that Southeast Asian nation.

Recruiting in Thailand this fall, he attended the Royal Thai Scholars Placement Day Event, where 250 of Thailand’s best and brightest students check out graduate schools from around the world.

“As a Royal Thai Scholar, they receive full tuition and stipend from the government for whatever university they choose to attend,” Smith says. “Routinely, the government is targeting the STEM [science, technology, engineering, math] disciplines for their scholarships, so that helps our cause considerably.”

Alumni in Thailand are master recruiters too.

“Prince Chackartnarodom, a 2003 materials science and engineering alumnus, teaches engineering at Kasetsart University, and he is spreading the word about Michigan Tech,” Smith says. “It really helps to have someone there to guide students into our programs. Prince is fluent in English, so he is one of our translators at events over there too.”

Their oldest recruiter is Wera Wongcruawal, who graduated from Michigan Tech in 1960.  He attends every event and puts a living face on a successful Tech alumnus for potential Thai students. Wongcruawal is a retired mechanical engineer. Also helping out is an alumni couple, Jennifer and Mark Bigelow, who are working for General Motors in Thailand.

Sanchai Kuboon, president of Tech’s Thai Student Association and a graduate student in materials science and engineering, talks with students in Thailand about his experiences on campus.

“I tell them Michigan Tech is a really good and warm place,” he says. “It’s got a lot of international students from other countries, which makes you feel good.”

The small group of Thai students is tight-knit, he says.

“We all work together with Jacque to help with recruitment,” Kuboon adds. For example, they advise students back home which courses and instructors to take.

Communications are reality lessons too, Kuboon points out. “We tell them about the winters, how to live here and to adjust to the lack of sun. We tell them to take vitamin D.”

“We’ve got the student association, a support network and momentum,” Smith says. “Students over there can envision themselves here.”

Smith believes it’s a system that will work in other countries too. And, true to Tech’s tradition, other nations will continue to send their most promising students to the snowy hills of the Copper Country.

The Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission of ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology)–an official applied science and engineering technology accrediting agency–has renewed the accreditation of two programs in the School of Technology: the Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering Technology and the Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering Technology. Both have been accredited since 1998.

Accreditation follows a lengthy process including self-review, visits and evaluations of the programs by volunteers from within the engineering technology professions.

“My compliments and thanks go to Jim Frendewey, Dean of the School of Technology, and all the faculty and staff who helped make this a very successful program evaluation and accreditation,” said Provost Max Seel.

Dean Frendewey also praised the efforts of his faculty, staff, students, alumni and advisory boards, as well as faculty and staff outside the School of Technology.

“I am very proud and deeply appreciative of their work,” he said. “Accreditation is a labor-intensive and time-intensive process, but in the end it helps programs engage in continuous improvement, and that is absolutely essential to continue attracting the best students to Michigan Tech.”

Dematic, a logistics company based in Luxembourg with North American operations headquartered in Grand Rapids, has opened a satellite engineering office in Houghton and hired a team of 11 interns. The interns include students from the Departments of Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, as well as the School of Technology.

Dematic’s engineering manager for the Houghton office is Jeff Lines, a Michigan Tech alumnus and former team leader for Ford Motor Company’s Houghton IT office. Lines has more than 10 years of experience in product development and information technology and has worked with students for the past two years.

The logistics firm was attracted to Houghton by the MTEC SmartZone’s Fortune 500 Formula, a satellite university sourcing solution for large companies. The SmartZone offers affordable, high-tech, secure office space and access to talented Michigan Tech students. Ford and GE Aviation already operate satellite engineering offices here under the SmartZone umbrella.

Student interns in SmartZone satellite offices such as Dematic’s perform real work for the company’s mechanical, software and electrical engineering teams.

Governor Rick Snyder has appointed Mike Drewyor, a professor of practice in the School of Technology, to the State Board of Professional Surveyors and the State Board of Professional Engineers.  The boards regulate the practices of professional surveyors and engineers.

Drewyor teaches construction management and survey engineering. Previously, he worked for engineering and surveying firms in the UP. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from Michigan Tech.

On the Board of Professional Engineers, Drewyor will fill the position for a professional surveyor who also serves on the Board of Professional Surveyors. On the Board of Professional Surveyors, Drewyor will fill the position for a professional engineer who also serves on the Board of Professional Engineers.

Appointees to both boards serve four-year terms that expire March 31, 2016. Their appointments are subject to state senate approval.

The Upper Peninsula Road Builders’ (UPRB) Scholarship Fund Committee has announced the recipients of scholarships for the 2011-2012 academic year. Scholarships are provided annually to students demonstrating the dedication and desire to complete their studies and receive a degree in Civil Engineering or Surveying Engineering from Michigan Technological University.

These scholarships are presented to undergraduate survey students who are in their second to fifth year of study and enrolled at Michigan Tech in the bachelor’s degree program for Civil Engineering or Surveying Engineering. Michigan Tech scholarship recipients are Ethan Richmond (Eben Junction) and Mark Jakubik (Whittemore).

“This year the scholarship committee received thirty applications and is able to provide 12 scholarships,” UPRB Scholarship Fund President Kevin Harju said. “We are excited to see so many bright and talented young people seeking a career in civil engineering and are honored to support their educational development.”

Since 1956, the Upper Peninsula Road Builders’ Memorial Scholarship Fund has encouraged men and women to study civil and environmental engineering, acquiring the tools necessary to pursue careers in Michigan’s construction industry and beyond. Unlike most undergraduate scholarship programs that support students in a four year course of study, the UPRB scholarships are intended to support fifth year civil engineering students who often do not qualify for scholarship aid to finish their studies.

“The young people receiving scholarships exemplify the work ethic and commitment of students at Michigan Tech in pursuit of their education and goals,” Harju said. “We congratulate them on their scholarship.”

The Upper Peninsula Road Builders’ Scholarship Fund is funded by private donations from the men and women who work in Michigan’s road building industry. Those wishing to help the fund sponsor future scholarships are encouraged to send contributions to the Upper Peninsula Road Builders’ Memorial Scholarship Fund, Box 239, Hancock, MI 49930.

As part of a $269,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, two faculty in the School of Technology (SOT) are embarked on an effort to bring academia abreast of industry.

The principles involved are Associate Professor Nasser Alaraje, who is chair of the electrical engineering technology program, and Assistant Professor Aleksandr Sergeyev. The two just conducted an intensive, two-day workshop on Very High Speed Integrated Circuit Hardware Description Language (VHDL) and Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA).

Representatives from seven institutions in six states (Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Georgia) engaged in the hands-on learning experience, working with both the software and the hardware. read more »

A new minor in data acquisition and industrial control begins this semester in the School of Technology.

The focus: an understanding of the electrical and electronic systems that control modern industrial processes.

“Engineers need this experience,” said Dean Jim Frendewey, “and it will help them and us.”

Associate Professor Nasser Alaraje, chair of the School’s electrical engineering technology program, put together the new minor. He said, “It’s a valuable skill that is highly marketable, highly respected, and highly desired by industry. There is great interest.”

The minor addresses gathering, analyzing, and interpreting data as a component of designing and conducting experiments and industrial functions.

Alaraje said the capability is ideal for engineers of every discipline being offered on campus. “It’s the basis for collaboration on multidisciplinary projects, because most real-world work involves several disciplines.” The specialty, he added, brings together electrical systems, computing, sensing hardware, data acquisition software and control systems.

The minor, the first in the School, entails 16 credits. All of the required and elective courses are already being taught on a regular basis by existing faculty.