Engineering Abroad

Global Health Design Initiative (GHDI) Website

Talk to a Human: globalhealthdesign@umich.edu | 734-764-9366

Semesters Offered/Recommended: Year Round

Financial: Assistance available, Some paid opportunities

The Global Health Design Initiative provides curricular and co-curricular opportunities for undergraduate students to collaborate with stakeholders to define problems and develop and implement solutions to address essential health care challenges.  

Looking for something to complement your GHDI experience?  Consider one or more of these:

• Multidisciplinary Design Minor
• International Minor
• Capstone Experience
• Program in Socially Engaged Design

If GHDI isn’t quite your style, one of these opportunities may be a better fit.

• Center for Entrepreneurship Courses
• C-SED Course + Field Immersion  

Global Health Design Initiative experiences build the professional competencies that employers say they’re looking for, including:

• Global & Cultural Awareness:  Practice empathy and gain meaningful understanding of the broader context of design during your immersive fieldwork experiences.
• Grit Persistence Resilience: Engage in co-creative design processes, conducting methodical design ethnography with our long-standing, respectful, and mutually beneficial partnerships.
• Systems thinking / Authentic Problem Solving: Collaborate with stakeholders to define problems and develop and implement solutions to address essential health care challenges.

If you’re a Michigan Engineering student, use Spire to find out more about how GHDI can foster your professional growth. 

International Programs in Engineering (IPE) Website

Talk to a human: ipe-office@umich.edu | (734) 647-7129

Semesters Offered/Recommended: Year Round

Financial: Assistance available

Join the 900+ engineering students who have an international experience each year to gain valuable life experience and prepare for the challenges of today’s global workplace. Returning students agree that the experience offers a broader perspective on the engineering field and a deeper understanding of the world.

Looking for something to complement your IPE experience?  Consider one or more of these:

• Engineering Honors program – Engineering Global Leadership
• Multidisciplinary Design Program
• Entrepreneurship (ENTR) Courses
• M-STEM
• Student Organizations 

If IPE isn’t quite your style, this may be a better fit.

International Minor for Engineers

Core Professional Competencies

International experiences build the professional competencies that employers say they’re looking for, including:

• Empathy: Gain exposure to diverse perspectives, strengthening your ability to understand the emotions and reasoning behind a premise or idea. 
• Global & Cultural awareness:  Develop an understanding of not only your own cultural identity but of the values, beliefs and systems of individuals from different backgrounds. Improve your ability to communicate across language and cultural barriers.
• Grit / Persistence / Resilience:  Develop the tools to persevere through setbacks, failures and adversity through your exploration of environments and perspectives outside of your own. Learn to solve problems and resolve conflict in team settings.

If you’re a Michigan Engineering student, use Spire to find out more about how the International Programs in Engineering can foster your professional growth.