International Research Experience for Engineering Students in China in the area of Fuel Cells

The department of mechanical engineering at Oakland University was awarded by the National Science Foundation a three year grant entitled “International Research Experience for Students(IRES): Collaborative Research Activities with China on Fluid and Thermal Transport in Fuel Cells.” The objective of the proposed IRES site is to annually provide five U.S. engineering students (four undergraduates and one graduate) with the unique opportunity to work on fuel cell collaborative research between Oakland University (OU) and Beijing Jiaotong University (BJTU) in Beijing, China. In the past summer, a total of 6 students have taken part in the IRES program. These students stayed in Beijing Jiaotong University for 8 weeks and worked on three different projects related to fuel cells. This paper will focus on the organization of this program including pre-departure preparation, on-site orientation, on-site activities and postprogram assessment. Also, the lessons learned from running this type of program will be summarized. Some suggestions to keep the sustainability of the program will be also provided.