GEI Study Abroad: Global Engineering
Hosted by
- Kenya
- Nairobi
- Rwanda
- Kigali
- South Africa
- Cape Town
- Thailand
- Bangkok
- Vietnam
- Ho Chi Minh City
- Ghana
- Accra
Frequently asked questions
You can apply to GEI Study Abroad: Global Engineering by clicking the "Apply Now" button.
GEI Study Abroad: Global Engineering is a multi-country program, spanning 6 countries, including Kenya, Rwanda, and South Africa.
About Program
Engineering for development is tested where resources are scarce and needs are real, and that is where GEI's Global Engineering programs take place. In Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Thailand, and Vietnam, you learn alongside engineers, practitioners, and community partners, from infrastructure and water systems to energy, agriculture, and technology.
Every program is built around learning by doing: site visits, community-engaged projects, and teamwork with local partners and student peers, with guided reflection on what you see and do.
Programs range from a three-week field course and a four- or eight-week practicum to an eight-week Summer Program. Every program is hosted by GEI's full-time in-country team, made up of nationals of the country you are in. There are no prerequisites, and U.S. academic credit comes through Hamline University, GEI's school of record.
Program Highlights
- Field-based learning: See how infrastructure, water, energy, and technology projects work, on site visits with engineers and practitioners
- Hands-on experience: Assess, design, prototype, test, and build with local partners, and document the work so others can replicate it
- Interdisciplinary teamwork: Collaborate in one team with students from other tracks and local student peers
- Cross-cultural insight: Understand what context-appropriate engineering means where conditions and materials differ, guided by GEI's in-country team
- Leadership development: Build the skills of a global change leader through weekly reflection on ethics, cross-cultural engagement, and systems thinking
Expanding Program Portfolio
Video and Photos
Impact 🌎
Sustainability
Popular Programs
From Ho Chi Minh City, two hours north of the Mekong Delta, you study the manufacturing and water management that drive Vietnam's development. Choose a three-week field course, a four-week practicum, or the eight-week Summer Program. The Summer Program leads to the Certificate in Global Engineering.
Rwanda is often where new solutions are tried first, from drones that fly blood to rural hospitals to off-grid solar power, and Kigali is your base. Choose a three-week field course, a four- or eight-week practicum, or the eight-week Summer Program. In the practicum, you carry the technical side of a GEI development initiative, from assessment and design to build.
In Kenya, geothermal steam from the Rift Valley powers the grid, and Nairobi's technology scene builds for markets across the continent. You join the Global Practicum for four or eight weeks, in one team with Kenyan student peers. Your cohort assesses, designs, tests, and documents its work so that others can replicate it.
Based in Cape Town, you study infrastructure under strain, a power grid in transition, and a growing number of wind and solar projects. The Global Practicum runs for four or eight weeks, in one team with South African student peers. Your cohort sees its project through to completion.
Based in Bangkok, you see a country that builds cars and electronics for the world and manages rivers, canals, and flood defenses in a changing climate. The Global Practicum runs for four weeks, in one team with Thai student peers. You carry the technical side of a GEI development initiative, adapted to local conditions and materials.
Based in Accra, you see large national systems such as the Akosombo dam beside workshops where mechanics and fabricators solve problems with what is at hand. The Global Practicum runs for four or eight weeks, in one team with Ghanaian student peers. Your cohort designs, tests, and documents its work so that others can replicate it.
