Co-op in Germany at Hegenscheidt Improves Technical and Global Knowledge
Teresa Schmeiszer, E’26, mechanical engineering, advanced her technical skills while working on large-scale milling machines during her co-op at rail industry manufacturer Hegenscheidt in Germany. Growing up speaking German, the co-op also deepened her understanding of the language.
This article originally appeared on Northeastern Global News. It was published by Ian Thomsen. Main photo: The German company Hegenscheidt, shown here at a recent transport technology fair in Berlin, serves the rail, automotive and engineering industries. Photo by TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP via Getty Images
This co-op in Germany is elevating her mechanical engineering—and language—skills
Teresa Schmeiszer had always wanted to experience a co-op abroad. This one wound up making her feel closer to home.
Schmeiszer, a fourth-year mechanical engineering student at Northeastern University, is working in the mechanical construction team of a manufacturing company in Germany, the native country of her parents.
“I grew up speaking German at home,” says Schmeiszer, who was born and raised in New Jersey. “But this co-op has given me a whole new insight on the language because I’ve had to learn the entire technical vocabulary that comes with working in an engineering firm in Germany.”
Teresa Schmeiszer, a fourth-year mechanical engineering student, is on co-op in Germany with Hegenscheidt. Courtesy Photo
She’s on a four-month co-op with Hegenscheidt, an international family-owned business that manufactures and sells machines and turnkey production systems for the rail, automotive and engineering industries.
Schmeiszer has been working in a department that primarily designs large-scale milling machines that are used for the smoothing of worn train wheels, which increases their longevity.
“They’re one of the top global manufacturers of these milling machines,” Schmeiszer says. “Something that I’ve learned is that train track sizes vary greatly around the world—the distance between the two wheels of a train will vary.”
Those varying specs and the engineering of new approaches create a need for testing the prototypes. That’s where Schmeiszer comes in. She has been designing a measuring device that will help test the efficacy of Hegenscheidt’s developing techniques.
“I’ve been able to work on that by myself with the guidance of my manager, which has been really great,” Schmeiszer says. “I always sketch on paper first, and then all of our design is done on a 3D modeling program called SolidWorks on the computer. That’s something that I’ve had experience with at Northeastern and at my previous co-op as well—and I’ve been able to build on those skills.”
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