Engineering technology concurrent (dual) Masters Degrees: an Irish, Spanish and American collaboration across the Atlantic: innovations, issues & insights

This paper describes the innovations and lessons learned from a European Union - Atlantis Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education funded project to implement a dual/concurrent Masters Degree program focusing on Sustainability, Technology and Innovation between one US and two European universities. The partners have learned many lessons on addressing issues with international collaborative programs, most importantly, the criticality of selecting the right partners and building significant understanding, rapport, and trust. The paper describes how the partners managed institutional and governance documentation issues and aligned the three university’s curriculum with the program’s objectives to ensure award requirements are reached for each institution. The paper describes the importance of the language component, faculty development, sustainability, and the independent evaluator role as central parts of the program. The resulting program prepares students for work in an international context and for effective citizenship in our increasingly interconnected, globalized world.