Winners of the 2019 IES Abroad Faculty-Led STEM Program Award

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IES Abroad
December 19, 2018

We are excited to announce that Dr. Margaret Hall, Assistant Professor of IT Innovation with the School of Interdisciplinary Informatics at the University of Nebraska Omaha is the winner of the first-ever IES Abroad Faculty-Led STEM Program Award.

This fall, IES Abroad Customized & Faculty-Led Programs launched the award offering $15,000 towards a faculty-led program at an IES Abroad Center during the 2019 Spring/Summer term. There is also a $5,000 award for the runner-up. The winner and runner-up were selected by a jury comprised of three IES Abroad Academics department staff members:

  • Rob Hallworth – Vice President & Deputy Director, Academic Programs
  • Jennifer Rogers – Program Dean for Auckland, Christchurch, London, Rabat, Salamanca, and Sydney
  • Ellen Rosenwinkel - Registrar and Director of Education Technology

Award submissions from universities included innovative program ideas varying from nursing to engineering, but Dr. Hall’s “Innovation, Analytics, and the Role of Services in the Modern Startup Scene” impressed the jury, and the program will take place at IES Abroad Berlin and IES Abroad Freiburg between May and June of 2019.

The runner-up for this award was submitted by Mark French, Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering, and will be led by Assistant Professor Dr. JC McNeil from the Department of Engineering, both at the University of Louisville.

Read on to learn more about Dr. Hall and Dr. McNeil.

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Meet the Winner

About Dr. Hall: Dr. Margaret Hall is an Assistant Professor of IT Innovation with the School of Interdisciplinary Informatics at the University of Nebraska Omaha. Before her current role, she was a Senior Researcher and head of the IBM-supported Strategic Initiative ‘Participation and Crowd Services’ at the Karlsruhe Service Research Institute (KSRI) in Germany. Dr. Hall’s research investigates the integration of digital systems and people, and the digital lifestyle. Prior to starting her PhD, she worked at the United Nations Office in Geneva and at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and at Bayer Business Services. She completed her bachelor's and master's degrees in Policy Studies in the United States, Lebanon, and Switzerland. With her extensive network across industry and academia in Germany, Dr. Hall will facilitate experiential STEM learning throughout the course.

About the Program: With its leading role in the world economy, reputation for excellence in innovation across technical sectors, and commitment to Small and Medium Enterprises (SME), Germany is leading the transition to the future digital, service-based economy. “Innovation, Analytics, and the Role of Services in the Modern Startup Scene” is an experiential study abroad program designed to allow students to look under the hood of the drivers of the modern German economy: startups and data-intensive service firms. Check out a video of the program in action!

“Winning this STEM-focused award is supporting our students in a career-relevant experience that they’ll surely never forget.”
Dr. Margaret Hall ǀ Assistant Professor • University of Nebraska Omaha
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Meet the Runner-Up

About Dr. McNeil: JC McNeil, PI, has been an assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Fundamentals at the University of Louisville since 2015. Dr. McNeil has experience with assessment and evaluation and has successfully published multiple publications from her research. She was awarded both the 2016 American Society for Engineering Education Educational Research Methods Apprentice Faculty Award and the 2016 Frontiers in Education Faculty Fellow Award. Dr. McNeil has over 20 publications of peer-reviewed conference proceedings and journal articles.

About the Program: The University of Louisville's J.B. Speed School of Engineering will collaborate with IES Abroad Shanghai to create a two-week study abroad program focused on global engineering systems. Students may enroll in this jumpstart program to gain early entry into the Speed School's new Global Engineering Track (GET). The goal of this short-term program is to prepare first and second year engineering students to critically think about engineering from an international perspective and engage them in an immersive academic experience abroad before declaring their major and engaging in upper-level coursework. Faculty will introduce engineering students to core cultural experiences through lectures, site visits, and guided studies in a peer-to-peer setting.

“For myself and students, this will be the chance to expand our knowledge of global engineering in new and exciting ways.”
Dr. JC McNeil, PI ǀ Assistant Professor • University of Louisville

Apply for the next Faculty-Led STEM Program Award. Learn more about our Customized and Faculty-Led Programs or connect with a Customized Program Manager to get started on your own faculty-led study abroad program!

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