Germany 2017Germany 2017
Israel TrekIsrael Trek
Germany 2022Germany 2022

Student and Post-Doc Opportunities
Global Engineering Treks

The Paula M. Trienens Institute for Sustainability and Energy, McCormick Global Initiatives, The Center for Water Research, the Israel Innovation Project, the Center for Engineering Sustainability and Resilience, and the Office of the Vice President for International Affairs have convened to organize a series of faculty-led research treks that occur during summer quarter. 

Three Treks are planned in 2024, each about one week long and are organized around themes of sustainability and tech. 

The applications for summer 2024 are now open.  Applications for the Taiwan program are due February 18th, while applications for the Chile and Israel programs are due March 18th.  The Germany program is on hiatus, and will return in 2025.

 

Apply for the Global Engineering Treks Program

 

In the fields of sustainability and energy, engineers turn abstract ideas into innovative solutions. With this in mind, McCormick Global Initiatives offers weeklong Trek programs in Germany, Israel, Taiwan, and Chile that expose students to real-world advances in water management, hi-tech innovation, and sustainability in energy and the environment.

Germany- Global Engineering Trek: Sustainability and Energy

Germany Trek 2022

In partnership with the Paula M. Trienens Institute for Sustainability and Energy,  this program sends students to Heidelberg, Germany for a cleantech immersion program. In addition to visiting companies and research universities in Heidelberg, Stuttgart, and Frankfurt, participants gain exposure to global internship and job opportunities including those related to biotech, organic photovoltaics, and sustainable production chains. This program is currently on hiatus, and will return in 2025. Read a profile of the 2022 trip.

Watch a video that highlights a previous trek to Germany, narrated by its hosts student participants:

Israel- Global Engineering Trek: Water

Northwestern students traveled to Israel to meet with leading researchers and industry experts and study firsthand the dry country’s water infrastructure as well as current challenges and potential solutions. Photos by Rebecca Lindell

Undertaken in partnership with the Northwestern Center for Water Research, this trek focuses on water desalination, water reuse, and hyper-efficient precision agriculture systems. Students gain exposure to global internships and job opportunities in the Israeli cities and regions of Tel Aviv, Dan region, Haifa, and the Negev Desert. This program will be offered in September 2024.  Read a profile of the 2022 trip.

Watch a video that highlights a previous trek to Israel, narrated by its hosts student participants:

 

Chile- Global Engineering Trek: Energy Storage and Critical Materials

Gain exposure to minerals mining at the center of energy storage technologies, the environmental and social effects of mining, and research to develop improved mining and recycling technologies that can reduce them.  This trek was supported in part by the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs, and in part by the Center for Engineering Sustainability and Resilience, the Paula M. Trienens Institute for Sustainability and Energy and by NSF Grant 2330041 SuReMiN.  This program will be offered in September 2024.

Costs for all treks are highly subsidized. Please note that completion of each trek does not convey course credit, and is intended as a supplemental learning and enrichment experience.  

Chile Trek Blog

Taiwan- Global Engineering Trek: Innovation and High-Tech

This joint initiative with the Office of the Vice President for International Relations offers attendees the chance to immerse themselves in the start-ups and industry leaders in Taipei. In addition to touring innovation incubators, global corporations, and meeting peer students at National Taiwan University, participants will gain exposure to global internship and job opportunities including those related to computer science, manufacturing, app development, electronic devices, and sustainable supply chain management. This program will be offered in June 2024.

 

LEARN MORE ABOUT EACH TREK ON THE TRIENENS INSTITUTE SITE