Saudi Arabia experience includes study abroad, internship

Students and faculty from Purdue’s Department of Building Construction Management visited Saudi Arabia for a second straight year last spring.

With the support of FTR Nevada, Professor Brad Benhart and  five students — Adam Ashouri, Mike Mattern, Matt Swavey, Tim Leung, and Nazir Katbi — left in May for a two-week intensive study abroad program followed by a six-week internship for the students.  On the trip, they toured many of the iconic projects in Saudi Arabia and learned about the many initiatives FTR was involved with in Riyadh.  They also were hosted at the financial district project which included 152 tower cranes and 41 skyscrapers being built at once.

In wasn’t all work. They were hosted at the U.S. Embassy for steak night and flew to Jeddah to spend two days relaxing on the beach. The highlight of the Jeddah trip was scuba diving in the Red Sea.

During their internship, students were paired with project staff.  They were involved with safety, scheduling, and estimating on the King Saud University campus project and a flight training school (FASA). Upon completion, the team spent the last two days in Abu Dhabi touring the famous buildings including the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building at 2,717 feet.