Thomas Walter Center launches international BET program
Published: Aug 21, 2025 2:10 PM
By Carla Nelson
This summer, the Thomas Walter Center for Technology Management (TWC) added a new option to its already thriving study abroad program. Students enrolled in the Business-Engineering-Technology (BET) minor now have the opportunity to participate in a new international BET program (IBET). Over the course of an 8-week trip, students completed their second year of the BET minor, starting in Pamplona, Spain and concluding in Würzburg, Germany.
John L. Evans, Charles D. Miller Chair Professor and director of TWC, said the center was looking for opportunities to increase enrollment and do something unique.
“Additionally, some students were having a problem finishing the BET minor due to course requirements within their own major,” Evans said. “So, the IBET gives students an opportunity to finish the minor during the summer after their first year, eliminating the need to accommodate the minor in their course schedule.”
Sage Patrick, a senior in industrial and systems engineering, said she joined the program because she wanted more than just a classroom experience that would push her out of her comfort zone.
“I knew that throwing myself into an unfamiliar environment, still having to perform well and balancing school with exploring new cultures would challenge me in the best way,” she said. “It felt like the perfect setup to grow both personally and professionally.”
The students worked as groups to create real-world products. Evans said the center feels that the global exposure in product innovation provides an opportunity for students to learn about the opportunities and issues involving global innovation.
“For example, automotive products in Europe are different due to limited parking spaces, narrow streets and increased cost of fuel,” he said. “These differences are similar in many other areas involving business and innovation.”
Patrick’s group created a volleyball elbow pad designed to protect players from impact and floor burns while still allowing full mobility. The idea came from talking to athletes and noticing that, while knee pads are common, there was almost nothing on the market made specifically to protect the forearms and elbows of volleyball players.
“Players were using the products currently on the market out of pure necessity, even though they weren’t designed for volleyball’s unique demands,” she said. “We wanted to create something lightweight, comfortable and functional that addressed that gap.”
Patrick said the market research and rapid prototyping skills she has already learned through the BET minor were helpful.
“I also found myself leaning heavily on presentation skills, especially pacing, pausing and keeping the audience engaged, because we pitched our product multiple times to different groups,” she said. “Materials research was another big one. Trying to figure out what fabrics, padding and construction methods would give us the right balance of protection, comfort and durability was a skill I had to quickly adopt. Problem-solving under pressure became second nature by the end of the trip.”
Several day trips and tours are included in the program, but the students also have several free weekends to explore on their own. Patrick said her favorite trip was to Innsbruck, Austria, where they had the opportunity to explore the Alpine Mountains and kayak on a lake in the middle of the mountains.
“Another highlight was the quieter nights in Pamplona when we’d just hang out in someone’s room, listen to music and talk for hours while planning our next weekend adventure,” she said. “Those moments were the perfect chance to really get to know everyone’s personalities and build friendships beyond the classroom.”
Patrick said the IBET experience was a professional turning point, as it directly led to her current job at Protector Innovations, where she works alongside the CEO and one of her best friends, Sophia Aulisio, who she met in one of the BET classes.
“It’s such a unique mix of learning, traveling and real-world application,” she said. “You don’t just sit in a classroom talking about business concepts; you actually live them, in a completely different cultural setting. You come home with new skills, new perspectives and a network of friends and professional contacts that can stick with you long after the program ends.”
Media Contact: , carla@auburn.edu, 3347400221
