California Exchange deal closedStarting next winter semester, mechanical engineering students can travel to the west coast.
Prof. Dr. Heilmann (2nd from the right) and Ryan Griffith (right) celebrate the exchange program between Aalen University and the University of the Pacific in California.
The Senior International Officer at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California visited Aalen at the beginning of November, bringing with them the final foreign exchange agreements. Starting winter semester 2018/19, students can travel to the west coast of the USA. “Some students are already showing great interest,” said Prof. Dr. Heilmann, dean and departmental exchange coordinator for mechanical engineering/production and management.
Prof. Dr. Harro Heilmann and Ryan Griffith, Senior International Officer of the University of the Pacific, successfully closed the deal for both fields of study. The plan with this exchange program is to send 2-3 students per semester from both universities. Students from Stockton will come in the summer semester and the mechanical engineering students from Aalen will enjoy the California heat during their winter semester. The academic relationships to California universities were established by Prof. Dr. Harro Heilmann during visits he made in 2014 and 2015. “We have a fully-fledged engineering school as a partner, and now we can build this partnership further,” said Professor Heilmann excitedly. For the exchange students from Aalen, it would be possible to do a practicum semester in California with one of the university’s many business partners. Highly motivated students could even do their bachelor’s thesis in California.
At the end, the group went to a tour of the Lammbrauerei Hilsenbeck to celebrate. The brewery has been owned by the Hilsenbeck family for 12 generations and gets all its raw materials from around the Swabian Alb. Ryan Griffith enjoyed the real, sustainable, middle-class culture of the Alb: “Today, we toast to our partnership and future possibilities. After a long series of talks, Aalen University and the University of the Pacific are now ready to start with the exchange. In the future, professors should also be able to go to the other campus. We are very enthused about this new opportunity, and we are excited to build on this success in the coming months and years.”