Four of our ChBE undergraduate students participated in a summer study abroad program in Copenhagen, Denmark with Professor Eric Davis. The students, Jed Gist, Chris Brown, Marie Joy Amurao, and Jessica Zahn, are rising seniors. They chose to take the Unit Operations course in Denmark rather than taking it at Clemson in the fall. The course itself is demanding both at Clemson and in Denmark, but these four students recommend the study abroad program as it has allowed for them to experience the course in a different setting while also getting the chance to explore parts of Europe.
The lab facility at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) is quite advanced and much larger than Clemson’s, making the course a rewarding learning experience for these students. “The facilities that they house are large-scale industrial standard operations which lends to real-world experience with the equipment,” says Jessica Zahn. Learning at this facility allowed for our students to apply what they have learned thus far to a different setting, preparing them for the job experiences they will soon encounter after graduation in the spring of 2018.
These four students were not the only ones who took part in the DTU program. “There were students from all over the US, Europe, and Asia, and professors from Europe and even South America,” says Jed Gist. Gist and Zahn both recognized the benefit of working with different students outside of regular Clemson classes, as Zahn claimed it was “a lot of fun meeting other ChBE students.”
The students concentrated on six different experiments in teams of two, running two experiments per week. The unit ops course was demanding due to time constraints, but the students had overall positive remarks about the experience.
Despite the work load, these undergraduates found free time to travel during the program. “I explored the streets of Copenhagen and its food locations such as Copenhagen Street Food and Torvehallerne.
I also visited the many royal palaces and castles in the area,” says Marie Joy Amurao. The four students were all able to visit several nearby countries during their time abroad, including Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands.
Although each student had the ability to travel during their time in Europe, they enjoyed spending time in Denmark. They were able to take three plant tours in Denmark on behalf of the program, including a catalysis plant, a power plant, and a local brewery.