For the latest news, go to the Advance Homepage . Brian Schwegler likes to think ahead. He was thinking ahead when he became one of the first UConn students to join the Eurotech Program in 1994. And he was looking several years down the road recently, when he discussed his current career and what he may do when he eventually returns to the United States from his job at Bayer-AG, in Leverkusen, Germany. But it's tough, because there are so many things you have to learn.
Engineering is hard enough, and then to put German on top of it.
Not just everyday German, although courses in German literature and culture are part of the program, but also specifically in technical German. Even before they join the workforce, they must be able to discuss engineering concepts in German in preparation for the six-month internship in Germany that is an integral part of the program. Four students have now graduated from the program, says Richard Long, a professor of civil engineering and director of the program. Schwegler discussed his 18 months with Bayer, where he also performed his internship, with students in the program's German class, and with all the current Eurotech students during a reception that evening. It has been, he says, an exciting few years.