Last summer, 15 University of Florida engineering students spent six weeks in Berlin eating currywurst and tackling pressing world problems.
Against a centuries-old backdrop laden with museums and schnitzel stands, the UF students set out to develop an easier pill bottle, mitigate coastal pollution, plan a micro-green grocer with sustainable products, straighten the posture of computer users and employ crowdsourcing to increase EV chargers in rural areas.
They developed solutions via innovation and entrepreneurship under the guidance of Professor Erik Sander, Ph.D., the executive director of UF’s Engineering Innovation Institute. This month, Sander took another group of UF students to Berlin, this time with a new set of world problems and the momentum of a growing study-abroad program for UF Engineering students.
There are eight more UF engineering study-abroad programs stretching across the globe this summer. While the programs are common at UF, the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering has significantly expanded its global reach and participation for international summer studies.