Intensive and Hands-on Course for Students
Lean Enterprise Systems Program is a multicultural experience, with participants from diverse institutions that have already graduated more than 950 students and had 50 undergraduate students from Mexico, Brazil, and the U.S. in the last edition. The program lasts five weeks: the first week is held via distance education with the help of communication technologies. This approach minimizes the distance barriers around the world. The remaining four weeks were held at the UT Knoxville campus. The academic content teaches the concept of Lean Enterprise, a methodology that helps use available resources wisely; A people-centric operational excellence approach that was developed here at UT and focused on improving people’s quality of life through a platform based on reliability and resilience while increasing productivity; And develop the skills to become a global compassionate servant leader. The program also includes a well-rounded experience as participants work on industrial projects in companies, with solutions to real issues, and as well they have a chance to visit different organizations such as Amazon, Toyota, and Volkswagen, where they learn about the best practices developed at these facilities and their cross-boundaries reach of the operations they perform every day.
The different settings, such as classes, projects, and cultural activities, provided a learning experience as well for instructors and representatives from the different participant organizations. To mention a few examples, in the classroom, students learned from the instructional methodologies followed in the U.S., and professors were impressed by the preparation, dedication, and formality students demonstrated through their work and presentations. Within the projects, students raised high expectations from the organizations by the way they worked and interacted with people with several differences in language, education, and culture, demonstrating efficiency and effectiveness in addressing the issues they were requested to solve.
Global Citizens
The program adopted the strategy of having the project teams comprised of members and leaders from multiple nationalities, which enhanced the experience of education and problem-solving from a multicultural perspective for everyone. This program has helped both students and organizations embrace different cultural perspectives through this mentioned exposure that generated a win/win relationship academically, culturally, and professionally.
In addition to classes and projects, students share common accommodations and socialize with each other and with the American people, increasing their interaction with different cultures. Activities developed to enhance their experiences include contact with nature (trips to the mountains, hiking, kayaking…, etc.), sports, and leisure activities such as visits to thematic and national parks.
At the beginning of the program, students are asked what they think about Americans and about each other through a survey during class time. After the program, they are asked the same questions. The results showed that the acceptance, respect, and appreciation of the US and each other had increased substantially. Furthermore, the US companies also greatly appreciated foreign nations’ students and cultures.
This generated a paradigm shift and an” eye-opening” experience, working, studying, recreating, and living with people from different nationalities who represented with dignity the role of ambassadors of their home countries in East Tennessee.
Ambassadorship Perspective
The program’s value to all participants is based on exposure, as it not only provides an opportunity to develop communication skills with individuals from other nations but also changes the way of thinking and addressing problems by considering a global perspective. It creates an environment of coexistence based on the principles of civility and community.
Utilizing the program’s current structure (classes, company projects, and social and leisure activities), we can develop an intense Ambassadorship Program that will further reduce the barriers to communication and interaction between different nations and cultures.
For overview information, you can download the following document:
Lean Enterprise Systems Program – Overview
For further information, you can download the Syllabus of the program:
Lean Enterprise Systems Program Syllabus_2023
For date information, you can download the Calendar of the program: