A team of plastics engineering faculty and student researchers at UMass Lowell and Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art in Israel has developed new self-cleaning coatings that could potentially revolutionize materials in the optical, aerospace, automotive and construction industries, among others.

To meet this growing demand for a skilled workforce, UMass Lowell and the U.S.–Czech Civil Nuclear Cooperation Centre in Prague have developed a joint summer fellowship program for graduate students and young professionals called the Intercontinental Nuclear Institute.

Engineering students looking to gain that valuable international experience have many options from which they can choose through the university’s Study Abroad Office, including two programs with partner institutions in Germany.

UMass Lowell has been participating in Taiwan’s National Chung Hsing University internship program since 2013, and eight Francis College of Engineering students have taken part so far.

UMass Lowell is teaming up with Plastindia Foundation, India’s largest plastics trade umbrella organization, to build a world-class university for polymer technology and processing in India.

Civil and environmental engineering students traveled to Haiti this winter to build a model septic system that could be easily adapted and replicated for other homes, using only basic tools and local materials.

Electrical engineering major Gregory Ensom was one of three Francis College of Engineering students to participate in the student exchange program at CTU in spring 2016.