Name:
Doug Niggley
Major: Aerospace Engineering
Internship: Lufthansa (Hamburg, Germany)
Video 1 : Georgia Tech Work Abroad Program Welcome (Assistant Director Debbie Gulick)
(5 minutes)
Quicktime (DV) |
Windows Media (AVI) |
Video 2 : Georgia Tech students who studied and completed an internship abroad talk about their experiences
(5 minutes)
Quicktime MPEG-4 |
Windows Media |
Video 3 : Doug, Mac and Nick present their experiences to business executives, administrators and faculty from around the US at the International Engineering Colloquium co-hosted by the School of Modern Languages (15 minutes)
Quicktime MPEG-4 |
Windows Media |
NOTE: You can download a free copy of the Apple Quicktime player here.
Photo: Nicole Rennalls (2nd from left) with other University of
My first semester working abroad was a lot like my first semester at Tech. When I first started, I made a lot of simple beginners mistakes. As I got more experience, I began to find my way. I made friends, explored more places, and the nagging sense that I should have stayed home faded away. In fact, I started to think of this new place (both
Photo: Stephanie Provow (in the red shirt) with President George W. Bush in Paris.
Meeting the President has been the highlight of this internship, but I have learned so much about the inner workings of the foreign service. My days have been spent by writing reports on current economic affairs, meeting influential people in both the French and U.S. government, and attending conferences about topics including Intellectual Property Rights, the Social Economy in France (attended by the Prime Minister of France), and the OECD Conferece at which the President spoke, as well. I have learned how the
Photo: Brian Srikanchana and Jonathan Murphy with Brian Cowen, the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of
This summer I'm working at Georgia Tech
Photo: Nobel Peace Prize Winner and current President of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias, and intern Stephanie Bolan
As a student double-majoring in International Affairs and Spanish, my internship this summer with the American Embassy in
"Working abroad was a fantastic experience for me, both in gaining real-world engineering experience and in the chance to learn about and live in a very different culture first-hand. I developed international contacts and relationships that could be invaluable for future work positions abroad. I experienced South African culture at a depth that I don't think I could have obtained through independent travel, or even studying there.
Working abroad provided me with more personal insight, helped to build self confidence in the workplace, and helped to broaden my views of foreign cultures. Having worked abroad I was able to publish my first paper at the 2007 Interspeech conference and soon I will enter the Master's program at the
Darren Scott Appling
Computer Science
Graduated May 2007
Bachelor's of Computer Science
Worked in
June 15th, 2006 - April 15th, 2007
NTT Communications Laboratories
"I feel that one can never truly learn to recognize and appreciate the differences of another culture until they have lived and worked within it for a long period of time. Only then, can you really begin to understand the fundamental differences and also begin to touch upon the slight nuances that are inherently disparate in any culture. This is a valuable life lesson that I will never forget."
I spent a year working at Yamatake, a Japanese company specializing in building automation. I was assigned to their R&D headquarters near Tokyo, developing a software platform to assist researchers in my section. It was a great opportunity to apply my skills to real-world problems, as well as experience working and living in another country. During my internship, my work enabled me to gain practical software development experience, while my location challenged my foreign language skills and communication ability, and gave me useful insight into Japanese work culture. That international aspect helped me improve the skills I need to think—and work—globally, and is something only the Work Abroad program could offer.
The work abroad opportunity in Ghana and Zambia presented me a valuable inside to the operations of NGOs and other humanitarian organizations in Africa. I worked with World Vision in their supply chain transformation project in Africa this summer and learned about the differences and challenges that lies in the work environment of development agencies in the field. Apart from my work experience, I really value my short exposure to the wonderful African landscape, the culture, the differences and the uniqueness that every country and even every tribe has.
Image 1 - The present community school
Image 2 - The new construction of community school under world vision project
Image 3 - Pic of me in the project site
After interning for a summer with CareerBuilder.com in Atlanta, I transferred to their brand new London office for my second 6 month work rotation. From the first day I arrived, everyone in London treated me as a full member of the team - assigning me important projects, bringing me along to client meetings and partner negotiations, and including me on all of the weekend gatherings. I not only got to watch as a US-based company decided to expand internationally, but I got to be active part of it - all while gaining real-world experience and learning about the cultural differences between Great Britain and America. Spending time abroad changed the way I look at world events and gave me a greater appreciation of the world around me. I also had a fantastic time living in and exploring London and the surrounding areas. I would highly recommend work abroad to anyone!
I decided to work abroad in Japan in order to experience foreign cultures in ways tourists never can. Working abroad gets you out of the souvenir shops and lets you experience the society in a more complete way. It broadens ones way of thinking and opens many new doors in both domestic and international companies. I recently graduated and just started work with an international consulting firm and look forward to continuing to work and travel abroad, especially in Europe and East Asia.
Image 1 - Macau Street
Image 2 - Mount Fugi
Image 3 - Top of Mount Fugi
When I worked abroad I had the opportunity to interact with very decent people who make a living and maintain their families with less than $400
