Colombia is home for several Purdue Study Abroad programs. This summer, three courses were taught in alliance between Purdue faculty and some of our partner institutions (Universidad Nacional, Universidad del Norte, and Universidad de Antioquia), resulting in over 40 Purdue students experiencing the Colombian culture, food, and history.
Engineering the Guitar from the U.S. to Colombia
Have you ever wondered how guitars are built? Twenty-five students from Purdue University and Universidad Nacional de Colombia (13 Purdue Polytechnic and 12 Nacional students) spent a portion of their summer learning some of the STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) behind the design of this ancient and yet, widely played instrument.
Purdue Polytechnic professors Mark French and José García-Bravo designed the course in partnership with faculty from Universidad Nacional de Colombia- Medellín Campus. This 3-credit course was offered for the first time this summer, and was subsidized by a Study Abroad and International Learning (SAIL) grant from Purdue University. Professor French, who has designed guitars for almost 20 years, traveled to Medellín for two weeks with all the Purdue students on May 21, 2017.
While professor García was not able to join the team for family reasons, he was in constant communication with the group making sure everything ran smoothly.
"Because this class was too short, we didn't have time to design the electric guitar from the beginning," explains professor French "we had to use guitar kits that are produced at Sinclair community college in Dayton, OH." Each Purdue student was responsible for taking two guitar kits to Colombia in their suitcases; one for themselves and one for an Universidad Nacional student. "This created a sense of responsibility and commitment from the very beginning," adds Dr. García-Bravo.
Purdue and Nacional students the last day of the course holding their completed guitars instruments. Click here to see the photo gallery.
The course consisted of theoretical and practical lessons. In the classroom sessions, students learned about the underlying physics, design and manufacture of guitars; followed by a 2-hour hands-on experience where students assembled their own electric guitars. Students were encouraged to decorate and play their instruments.
"I grew up with the dream of becoming a rock star, so I learned how to play guitar, drums and some piano," explains Jacob Torres, graduate student in the department of Engineering Technology at Purdue. "This course not only taught me how guitars are built which is something I always wanted to learn, but also helped me acquire a lot of knowledge about the science behind it: circuits, sound frequencies, and physics."
Not everything was work though. Purdue students also had the opportunity to take a closer look into the Colombian culture by city tours and visits to landmark places such as Downtown, Plaza Botero, and Parque Arví. "I even went to a classic Medellín-Nacional soccer game!" says Torres with excitement.
At the end of the experience, students from both institutions not only learned the science behind guitar manufacturing, and were able to keep the instrument they designed, but acquired intercultural and team skills that will be beneficial in their personal and professional life. This course will be offered again next summer.
Professional, Intercultural, and Global Development in Colombia
From salsa dancing lessons, to visits to national ports, sixteen Purdue undergraduate students from the College of Engineering explored and immersed into the Colombian Caribbean culture, food and diversity for two weeks this summer. This 3-credit course was an outcome of the 100K Strong in the Americas grant, which was awarded to the Global Engineering Program (GEP) at Purdue University in partnership with Universidad del Norte (and Universidad EAFIT), and was the first exchange program that involved large student mobility from Purdue to Universidad del Norte (Uninorte).
While students spent most of the time in Barranquilla, mainly at Uninorte and visiting local industries and museums, they also had the opportunity to travel to Santa Marta and Cartagena during weekends and explore landmark places of the Colombian Atlantic coast, such as La Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino, and San Felipe de Barajas Castle.
Dr. Heidi E. Parker, Assistant Director of Purdue GEP Latin America/Spain Program, carefully designed the course curriculum which focused on the development of intercultural/global competence and cultural adjustment. In order to quantify the intercultural competence development, students completed the Intercultural Development Inventory® (IDI®) before and after the study abroad experience. In addition, students earned the Global Competence Certificate (GCC) which was an embedded educational program that provided further content on four core developmental areas: self-awareness, awareness about others, emotional intelligence, and bridges across difference. María Angélica Díaz, Director of International Public Relations at Universidad del Norte, helped to coordinate all of the sessions that took place at the university as well as the various site visits and logistical needs that were crucial to make this program a big success.
Promotional video of the study abroad program developed by Universidad del Norte and Purdue University. Click here to visit the photo gallery.
"IDI results showed remarkable increases along the intercultural development continuum," explains Dr. Parker. "Before the program, 64% of the students were in the more 'monocultural' mindset in the continuum; after the program, only 25% of the students were in the first two stages, and 62% increased one or more orientations along the continuum, moving towards more 'global' mindsets. These results are impressive, especially considering that this was a short-term study abroad program." This success can be attributed not only to the well-designed curriculum, but to the fact that students from both institutions were in constant interaction, which facilitated the exchange of meaningful cultural experiences. "The students at Uninorte made us feel like we were family and helped us out a lot. I was able to connect with most of them even though I don't speak any Spanish," says Majid Sabri, Purdue student.
"This was a valuable experience both for Purdue and Uninorte students," explains María Angélica Díaz. "Purdue students had the opportunity of crossing a new border, and experimenting a close relationship with the Caribbean culture through its people, history, and industry. All of this, transformed them into ambassadors and liaisons between both cultures and institutions."
The Purdue students who participated in this program recommend it to others without reservation and affirm that this experience expanded their horizons. "This was my first time out of the country, and it helped me grow as an individual, not only by bringing me out of the comfort zone and putting me into a new environment, but forcing me to make new interactions and new relationships with all the wonderful people that you meet along the way," explains Vincent Di Gerlando, Purdue Student.
The course has been proved successful; not only for the outstanding results in the development of student's intercultural and professional skills, but for the overall positive impact on each student's life. The program will be offered again next summer and Dr. Parker hopes to increase participation numbers. She is planning to include the city of Medellín to the itinerary where the other partner institution Universidad EAFIT) is located; this way the students will have an even greater exposure to the various cultural settings that Colombia has to offer.
Open Estudio: Interactive Art and 3D animation
Traveling to a new place with cultural, geographical and language differences can be challenging, but students at Open Estudio use these contrasts to propel creativity and transform it into art.
Open Estudio is a study abroad course designed by Purdue Polytechnic professor Esteban García, in alliance with Art professor Isabel Restrepo from Universidad de Antioquia (UdeA) in Medellin, Colombia. The course aims to expose Purdue and UdeA students to basic 3D animation and programming graphic tools to develop interactive projects under the concept "mapping the city" of Medellín. The course was offered previously in the summers of 2014 and 2015.
A total of 25 students (15 Purdue and 10 UdeA) and 5 faculty members participated this year.
Purdue Polytechnic Professor Davin Huston was an Invited Faculty Member at Open Estudio as the curriculum was focused on his area of expertise: Physical Computing -the design of interactive physical systems by using a mix of software and hardware that can respond to the surrounding environment- under the scope of interactive art. "Davin was vital for the success of this course," explains García "not only he taught Arduino software, and sensors; but was a mentor to all students."
Complementary to the class sessions, the course incorporated field trips to cultural and ecological landmark sites of the city and surroundings, such as downtown, Parque Arví, Santa Fe de Antioquia, and a graffiti tour around Comuna 13. Each student was required to keep a travel log to document their personal reflections about the cultural immersion. Such travel journal, could include writings, sketches, videos or pictures. This exercise was extremely valuable in the process of creative brainstorming and development of intercultural skills.
While this was the largest Open Estudio group, professor García assures it was a wonderful experience because students from both institutions created a strong comradery, which facilitates the cultural interchange.
Students from both institutions worked in teams to develop their final assessment. They developed five outstanding interactive projects that were reflections of their own cultural experiences, while applying the theory learned on 3D animation and programming. The projects were exhibited to the public free of charge, at the Carlos E. Restrepo Cultural Center in Medellín. "With only five days to design and develop their projects, students delivered excellent art pieces, not only for their quality but the profoundness," explains Dr. García. "One of the projects, for example, was a video game that consisted of two players, one Colombian and one American, and they had to work together to solve different puzzles."
"This experience teaches students -which come from different fields and cultures- to successfully work in teams and integrate new methodologies and perspectives for the generation of ideas," explains Dr. Restrepo "in addition, students develop technical and research skills oriented to the preparation of art proposals."
The successful teaching model of Open Estudio was presented by Esteban García, Isabel Restrepo, Pablo Andrés Pulgarín Herrera, and Carlos Mario Sánchez Giraldo (Professors in the College of Arts at Universidad de Antioquia, and members of research group Hipertrópico) at the International Symposium of Electronic Art (ISEA) that took place in Manizales, Colombia June 11-18, 2017.
Open Estudio will be offered again in summer 2019.
Students kept a journal along the study abroad. This video was produced by Purdue student Yuqing Wu as part of her group project entitled "Sights and Sounds."
Last modified: December 4, 2023