China Study Abroad 2009

The world is our classroom

The value of higher education to college students is found not only in a classroom, but in their willingness to look beyond their immediate worlds and open themselves up to new experiences and cultures.

This past summer, business students visited the cities of Beijing, Xi'an, and Shanghai in China. What better way to learn about international marketing, finance, or economics than to experience them first-hand?  

Professors Wing Fok and Lee Yao accompanied the group of undergraduate and graduate business students on the trip, which exposed the students to contemporary Chinese history, culture, and business practices.

The trip was not only a fabulous once-in-a-lifetime experience, but students also received academic credit for the trip through two courses: International Accounting and International Business Practices in China.

Students learned that businesses abroad want to serve customers and make a profit just like domestic ones do, that global consumers still want to be served valued products, and that people the world over want to have loving relationships, meaningful work with fair pay, and some form of spirituality in their lives. And, the most important global lesson--people are not all that different.

The group visited the Great Wall (1), the old and new Summer Palaces (2), and the Forbidden City (3) in Beijing. In Shanghai, they explored the famous Water Town (4), and in Xi'an, saw the Terracotta Warriors (5) and the Big Goose Pagoda (6).

 All photos courtesy of Brian Danos, M.B.A. student who participated in the China 2009 trip