Preparing undergraduate students for work in virtual product development teams

The development of innovative and competitive products and mastery of IT&T technologies are crucial for a company's long-term success in the global market. The main flag bearers for development are product developers, but it is questionable whether the existing systems are appropriate for the education of such professionals. For example, one study found large deficiencies concerning their skills in group interaction and ability to translate thoughts into action. Based on these and similar findings, a decision was made to organize an international course that would help students become competent members of product development teams. Integrated product development is a demanding and complex activity as it is, and its level of difficulty is additionally increased by the ever-changing business environment, primarily by functional associating of geographically disperse human resources. The paper describes the E-GPR (European Global Product Realization) course program, the used IT&T technologies, the way international teams were formed and the experiences and findings of the students, company representatives and lecturers who participated in this course. The authors believe that realism is the main strength of the course. Based on positive responses of all participants, the organizers decided to continue and further improve the E-GPR course. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.