Home > News > UMD students fly to China for summer study abroad session
UMD students fly to China for summer study abroad session
BY KEVIN SCHUSTER
STATESMAN STAFF WRITER
ISSUE: 78/30
KEVIN SCHUSTER / STATESMAN
The professor, and 15 of 17 UMD students, pose at one of their last meetings before their month-long study abroad session in China.
A group of 17 undergraduate and graduate UMD business students are taking the topics and subjects they have learned with them to China for a four-week study abroad session this summer. “This is a special opportunity for the students to learn about different cultures and people in a different country,” said Dr. Dahui Li, associate professor of finance and management nformation sciences (FMIS) within the Labovitz School of Business and Economics (LSBE).
This group will be traveling to four different cities in China—Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou and Tianjin—from May 19 to June 16, according to Li. They will be making history because this marks the first time a collection of UMD students will specifically study business abroad in China. Tianjin will be where the education portion of the program, which is part of UMD’s May session, will primarily take place. Students will study and stay at Nankai University, one of the top education institutions for business in the country, and an university that was ranked sixth in a top-10 list by the Chinese edition of Forbes magazine, in its 2007 Most Valuable Full-Time MBA programs in China.
Li has been the driving force behind the program’s creation, development and its coming to fruition; he is the only LSBE faculty member going on the trip with the 13 undergrads and four graduate students. Dean of LSBE, Kjell Knudsen, helped collaborate with Li in securing the right fit, in terms of a university, in China. “We were looking to find a Chinese university with a good business school,” Knudsen said. “It is our hope to build a good, solid relationship with Nankai.”
The group of students will fly into Tianjin from Minneapolis and spend the first 10 days acclimating, exploring and getting to know the 27th largest city in China, in terms of population. They will also participate in lectures given by both Li, as well as select faculty members of Nankai University. There will be a total of six lecture sessions throughout the entire trip, with the topics ranging from the management philosophy in China, to the country’s economic development and current environment. “It really is a globalized world,” said Tod Urban, a Duluth-area businessman who recently finished his Masters of Business Administration (MBA) schooling at UMD and one of the four graduate students going to China. “Learning the language and customs is fascinating. It’s worth the investment.”
During the second weekend, the group will travel by train to Beijing, China’s capital city and the host of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. After returning to Tianjin for the next two weeks, it will be on to China’s largest
city, Shanghai, for the last three days of the trip. Li has dedicated a portion of nearly each day of the time in China to free time for the students to roam and explore on their own.
Senior human resources (HR) major Stacy Jorgenson is excited to have more free time in the scheduling of events on the trip. Jorgenson is a bit of a veteran when it comes to studying abroad; the business major went to New Zealand for the spring semester of her sophomore year and was part of the congregation of students that went to Hawaii this past winter break. “I love studying abroad; it’s changed me as a person,” Jorgenson said. “I definitely would recommend for every student to study abroad at some point.”
Jorgenson also points out that it has given her a step up on her competition in the business world. “This trip will help give me a global perspective of HR,” Jorgenson said. “In the long run, this is going to set me apart from others within the HR field.”
