01/25/00
AUBURN INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS DIRECTOR TO VISIT LONDON UNIVERSITY
AUBURN -- Nick Conrad, Auburn University's director of international programs, will be in England in February to analyze offerings at the American InterContinental University in London for Auburn students who wish to study there.
Conrad, who will be accompanied by Will Conrad, international studies program director of AIU-Washington, D.C. , said he will use the Feb. 5-12 visit to "look into what's available for Auburn students at AIU-London."
"Auburn is the lead school in the effort for AIU (to accommodate study- abroad students in engineering and science)," Conrad said. "We (university international student program directors) are sort of the people who would help AIU in the process.
"We are looking to work with (AIU-London/Dubai) to get a scholarship and study-abroad program in order appropriate for engineering majors."
Conrad said he hopes to use the London trip as a tool in directing the Auburn program, to "help describe what we know as reality" for students who study abroad.
"(The trip) will provide a first-hand observation of some of the programs in which our students are involved," he said. "My colleagues are overseas; we need to be akin to the responsibilities of living in a foreign country: travel and safety issues, employments and available support, not to mention status issues -- passport and visa statuses.
"I will look at credit transfers and whether the school is run with similarity to American instruction."
An unrestricted $500 scholarship from AIU is available to students who wish to complete a study-abroad internship. The AIU internship program is supervised by AIU faculty and is available in all of its academic terms. Placement is available in several fields of study, mostly in the areas of design, business and advertising. There is currently no placement in engineering, which Conrad hopes to correct.
"When I get there I want to see if any of these placements would be appropriate for Auburn engineers," Conrad said. "Engineering is making so many strides, if you look at what engineers do in the public and private sector."
Conrad was appointed interim director of Auburn's Office of International Educational Programs last fall quarter, after retiring from the University's College of Engineering in 1998.
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CONTACT: Conrad, 334/844-5766.