Students can be heard bemoaning the latest calculus exam, discussing cultural differences between Germans and Americans, swapping stories about their internship experiences abroad, or expressing anxiety about going abroad the next academic year. With four or five faculty in the dining room at lunch time, this becomes a place and time for students to get advice or for faculty to move closer to the concerns of their students. The IEP House has the good fortune of employing a chef with not only good cooking skills, but also a pedagogical dedication of his own. Knowing that the students will encounter different foods abroad, and that their career goals will bring them into contact with a multicultural kitchen and dining experiences with high behavioral expectations, he eagerly prepares and serves meals that many have not encountered before. Thus, when the students are abroad or in a corporate board room, red cabbage, Sauerbraten, canard l orange, poached salmon, and West African peanut soup will not take them fully by surprise.
New students meet here to learn more about the program.
High school students interested in engineering regularly visit the house. Foreign language films and cultural programs are offered throughout the semester, as is tutorial assistance for IEP students, whether residents or non-residents. The house is also regularly visited by recruiters and interested executives of global companies eager to participate in and benefit from the education of a more global engineer. The IEP House organizes fireside chats with visitors from companies such as DaimlerChrysler, Hilti, TRW, and Bayer, and has enjoyed their support in furnishing and equipping the house. In the summer, the IEP House is used as the home for URI s intensive, residential German language and culture program, the German Summer School of the Atlantic, where faculty and students reside together and where English is verboten. .