Internships
Song-yul "Ben" Choe, William B. and Elizabeth Reed Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Samuel Ginn College of Engineering
Internships and service learning are used by departments across the Auburn campus to provide real-world applications of the knowledge and skills that students are learning in class.
A high-impact practice that enhances learning through active engagement of students in their chosen disciplines, internships, cooperative education, service learning and other forms of experiential education can add international dimensions in learning and experience for both domestic and international students. With over 500 foreign-owned companies in the State of Alabama, there are many opportunities for placement of Auburn students into an international and intercultural setting even if they remain in Alabama. Use of departmental or Office of International Programs internship courses allow students to undertake a work or service experience as an undergraduate or graduate student during their degree program. Creative faculty have teamed up with local industries or service organizations to leverage these work experiences to recruit domestic and international students into graduate programs and graduate research.
International Undergraduate Research
Kelly Alley, Alma Holiday Professor of Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts
When Kelly undertook a research trip to India to study how the availability of good water affected people’s interests in reusing treated wastewater, she brought undergraduate student Rachel McKay along to learn about conducting surveys in difficult terrain, both culturally and politically. Their work took them from the Hindu pilgrimage town of Rishikesh, which borders the river Ganga at the base of the Himalayas, to Delhi to Bangalore, all of which presented unique water-related challenges as well as research-related ones. Rachel was able to experience research work in the field in situations she might not have encountered during a U.S.-based experience. Flexibility was a key takeaway for Rachel. Undergraduate student Ed Denton also worked on the project from the U.S., helping to clean and audit the data. Ed ultimately wrote his Sustainability Capstone Project, titled "Interest in Using Recycled Wastewater in India," on the subject.
