It might sound like a no-brainer that being bilingual or multilingual helps students planning engineering and just about any other career. But it is certainly true and is becoming more important as the economies of nations become more intertwined. What's more, being able to go beyond mere language ability and understand cultural distinctions are extra advantages. For evidence look to UTEP, situated at a pivotal juncture on the U.S.-Mexico border. Directly across the Rio Grande is the large Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez, so about 10 percent of the students are Mexican citizens and a higher percentage speak both English and Spanish. El Paso-Juarez region has emerged as the third largest manufacturing center in North America after Los Angeles and Chicago. On the Mexican side, a complex tapestry of "maquiladoras" or special tax-free production zones got a boost in 1994 when the North American Free Trade Agreement passed. NAFTA was a landmark bill that eliminated many tariffs and spurred trade among Canada, Mexico and the United States. Many marquee-name U.S. firms, including Delphi Auto parts, modemmaker Scientific Atlanta and peripheral-manufacturer Lexmark, have cross-border plants that take advantage of cheaper labor costs and no to low export fees. UTEP students are able to help in cross-cultural aspects of technology, particularly by working in Mexico at technology centers set up by the government or private companies. Indeed, studying the work differences between Mexico and the United States may make UTEP an especially worthy laboratory for research.