Architecture Library Exhibit Shows Lessons From Studying Abroad

Ali Chahine and Antonia Santoro were among nine NJIT architecture students who had eye-opening experiences while taking a semester in Austria last spring.

Both are now fifth-year students who, along with their peers, gave presentations this week about their time at the University of Innsbruck and how it differed from a regular semester here in Newark.

Although they studied historic structures, it was academic structure that was the main difference between life at NJIT compared to life at Innsbruck. Students there do not follow rigid class schedules, they said. Instead, students work more on their own schedule and even take classes at overlapping times, excusing themselves when necessary. Courses are taught in open areas rather than in formal classrooms, and it's up to students to develop projects rather than relying on professors to set homework assignments.

Another major difference: Austrian students don't pay to attend college. Chahine said a surprised professor asked the NJIT students why they attended every scheduled class -- "Because we pay for it," the students replied.

Students from Austria and from elsewhere in Europe tended to be older and have work experience, but most classes are taught in English, Santoro said. She grew up in Italy so traveling around Europe wasn't an adjustment.

The group visited Vienna during their semester. It's about five hours from Innsbruck. Chahine said that was his favorite place because of the age and architecture of most buildings. Ironically, their main class project was to design buildings for Los Angeles.

Other students visited Denmark, Italy, and South Korea. Two more architecture students will go to Austria this coming spring. Students need a 2.75 GPA to study abroad, said Beth Calamia Scheckel, associate director of the NJIT Global Initiatives office. Regular NJIT tuition covers overseas education although students pay their own travel and housing costs. Depending on the city, this can be cheaper than housing in northern New Jersey, she noted.

Traveling abroad is critical for architects, not just to see different building styles but also to experience different scholarly approaches and perspectives, said Gernot Riether, director of the architecture school in the Hillier College of Architecture and Design. "When you study abroad you think differently, you dream differently," he said. "It informs the way you think."

An exhibit about the study abroad projects will be open throughout this semester in the Barbara & Leonard Littman Architecture, Art and Design Library located on the 4th floor of Weston Hall. The exhibit coincides with NJIT's observance of International Education Week.