Master of Science in Engineering Management students have just completed the Immersion Program in locations including Spain, Portugal, Denmark, England, and Maryland.
Each January, the Immersion Program sends first-year MSEM students to one of six locations (Braga, Portugal; Coimbra, Portugal; Copenhagen, Denmark; London, England; Madrid, Spain; or locally in Baltimore, MD) where they work with international clients (local researchers and startup companies) and immerse themselves in the cultural landscapes of their respective locations.
In Madrid, MSEM students collaborate with graduate students in the International Business Administration Program at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid on consulting projects for Spanish startup companies, including InRobics, a social robotics and AI solution delivering personalized physical rehabilitation, Plantae, developing sensors, flowmeters, meteorological stations to assess and control farm climates, and Capchase, who delivers non-dilutive financing and revenue collection services to SaaS companies. In their time off, students toured Madrid and the Reina Sofia Contemporary Art Museum, visited the town of Segovia, which is home to impressive Roman aqueducts, and enjoyed a weekend excursion to Málaga.
In Braga, students were paired with research teams at the Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory to consult on commercializing their technologies, including heavy metal ion sensors assessing industrial wastewater, hydrogen sulfide sensors used in recirculating aquaculture systems, and nanotoxicology services and safety assessments.
In Coimbra, students are paired with startups in the incubator program at the Instituto Pedro Nunes. This year’s startups included TeroMovigo, who design drone-based magnetic surveys in archaeology and Spotlite, who develop remote monitoring systems for infrastructure based on satellite data.
The groups in Coimbra and Braga united in Porto for a tour of the city and a visit to the Casa da Música to experience the Porto Symphonic Orchestra. After they deliver final presentations to their project sponsors, they will travel together down the west coast of Portugal to Nazaré, Sintra, Cascais, and Lisbon before returning to the US.
Students in the Denmark program were paired with students at the Danish Technical University on four teams to assess the readiness for digital sales across Siemens’ sales division and business units. In their free time, students toured Copenhagen and visited the cities of Roskilde and Helsingør, where they toured the Viking Museum, Roskilde Cathedral, and Kronborg Castle.
In London, students attended lectures and completed consulting projects at Imperial College London on topics ranging from health data storage, cybersecurity, multinational defense innovation, and more. In addition to lectures and project work, students enjoyed a cruise down the Thames, a tour of London’s Design Museum, a visit to the Shard, and a tour of London’s tech hub.
Students who elected to stay local toured locations around Maryland and met with local business and political leaders. The group visited cities including Frederick, Bethesda, Annapolis, Millington, Queenstown, and Cambridge, among others and met with Kelly Schulz, the president of the Tech Council of Maryland, Alderwoman Katie Nash, Idiom Brewing founder Mike Clements, Queen Anne’s County Commissioner Christopher Corchiarino, Councilman Andrew Friedson, and Jay Falstad, the executive director of Queen Anne’s Conservation Association. Students also enjoyed the Oyster Festival in downtown Cambridge and the Babe Ruth Museum.
