GOING GLOBAL: PREPARING FOR THE WORLD OF BUSINESS
Global Partnerships
Dual Degrees
International Internships
Graduate International Studies
‘Going Global’ is more than a catchy phrase at the NC State Poole College of Management. It represents a commitment that the college’s leadership team has made to provide students opportunities to learn first-hand how businesses operate in a global marketplace.
“NC State University has a long history of providing resources to help students across campus study abroad,” said Dr. Ira Weiss, Poole College’s dean. “But today’s global business environment means students who aspire to careers in any sector of business or industry need to have some understanding of how businesses operate in other countries and across borders. That requires international experiences that are aligned with the students’ business curriculum and career goals,” he said.
Helping to assure that Poole College’s students are making international study decisions that support these goals is Robert Sandruck, who joined the college in fall 2011 as director of international programs. While based in the college’s undergraduate advising office, Sandruck also provides logistical and other support for students in the college’s Jenkins graduate programs.
Strengthening Global Partnerships
In 2009, Poole College was invited to join the International Partnership of Business Schools (IPBS), a consortium of leading business schools worldwide that collaborate on programs designed to enable their students to work toward their business degree requirements while studying abroad at a partner institution.
Since fall 2011, when Weiss was elected to a two-year term as president of the International Partnership of Business Schools (IPBS), he has joined leaders from nine other accredited business schools in Europe and the Americas (North, Central, and South) for bi-annual meetings to continue refining the IPBS programs.
“This collaborative model provides students from all our partner schools unparalleled opportunities for dual degrees, language and cultural mastery, and global internship experiences,” Weiss said, noting that the number of business schools in the partnership has grown from the six original European schools to 10 leading international business schools. Those are:
- Fundacāo Getulio Vargas (FGV) | Brazil
- Reims Management School (RMS) | France
- ESB Business School, Reutlingen University | Germany
- Dublin City University (DCU) | Ireland
- Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (UCSC) | Italy
- Universidad De Las Americas Puebla (UDLAP) | Mexico
- Universidad Pontificia Comillas | Spain
- Lancaster University | United Kingdom
- Northeastern University | United States
- North Carolina State University (NC State) | United States
Sandruck works with his counterparts at the other partner institutions to assure a smooth transition for business students attending NC State’s Poole College for a semester or up to two full years. He also works closely with the partner schools’ students when they come to NC State for the second half of their dual degree programs, and is actively engaged in recruiting high school students to NC State to participate in the German and French tracks of the dual degree programs. Poole College currently has agreements with ESB Business School in Germany and Reims Management School in France, and is working with Universita Cattolica to open an Italian track.
Interest Growing in Dual Degree Options
NC State University has a dual degree program of its own – the Alexander Hamilton Scholars Program that is offered jointly by the Poole College of Management and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHASS). In January 2013, it admitted 19 new student members, bringing the total number of Hamilton Scholars at NC State to 82.
Sandruck also works with Poole College’s undergraduate students who are studying abroad at institutions other than the IPBS partners, such as the 45 who are studying in 15 countries in spring 2013, including China, South Africa, Australia, Chile, Japan, and several European countries. A number of the students – in Hong Kong, Spain, Ireland, and Australia – are posting reflections about their experiences on the college’s undergraduate Going Global blog.
Poole College also hosts business students coming to NC State for their study abroad experiences. In fall 2012, the college welcomed 42 business students from around the world.
Sandruck’s busy schedule reflects a growing trend among students; in fact, he said, 78 percent of undergraduate students entering the college in fall 2012 indicated they were interested in studying abroad.
He is continually working with strategic academic partners to identify additional strong business courses to meet the growing demand. “Our goal is to create a group of top international business schools where our students can study for a semester or year, making steady progress toward their degrees,” he said.
Individual Poole College faculty members are developing additional opportunities for students to work toward their business degree requirements while studying abroad.
In summer 2013, 29 students will study Human Resource Management (MIE 330) and Operations Management (BUS 370), taught by Poole College professors Shannon Davis and Tracy Freeman, respectively, at Shanghai University in China, and a new course, “Doing Business in China,” co-taught by these faculty members and our partner faculty at Shanghai University.
Another 23 students will take Concepts of Financial Reporting (ACC 210) and Financial Management (BUS 320) in Reutlingen, Germany, taught by Christopher McKitterick, lecturer, Poole College’s Department of Accounting, and Helmit Hergeth, associate professor, College of Textiles, as well as a new course offering, “Economics of the Euro Zone.”
At both locations, students will visit corporate operations and a number of cultural sites, in addition to their classroom instruction. “We are thrilled with the response from students for these first-time program offerings,” Sandruck said.
International Internships
Another aspect of the college’s commitment to international preparation is to provide global work experiences for its students. Volvo Group, which in fall 2012 selected NC State University as one of eight global strategic academic partners – and one of two in the U.S. – is providing one option for Poole College’s students through its highly competitive international internship program. “Students can submit a proposal for an internship that focuses on their desired area of work in one of three international locations: Sweden, France, or China,” Sandruck said.
International internships are also a requirement of the IPBS dual-degree program, and an option for other students studying abroad, he said.
Beyond the coursework at NC State and abroad, Poole College students are supporting their interest in international business through the International Business Club (IBC) which was founded by senior Zach Milburn along with seven other undergraduate students. They now have over 100 members, have started a lecture series featuring international business leaders, and are connecting with international students across NC State and at the SKEMA Business School, located on NC State’s Centennial Campus.
Graduate International Studies
Students in the college’s Jenkins graduate programs are also taking greater advantage of international business studies opportunities. Sandruck helped to coordinate the college’s 2013 spring break study programs for 16 students in the Jenkins MBA program who studied international finance with Poole College professor Mark Walker in Beijing and Shanghai, China.
In late May, two groups of Jenkins MBA students are heading abroad for study tours: 17 students will go to Munich, Germany, with Dr. Jon Bohlmann, associate professor of marketing and innovation, where they will study innovation management, and 12 MBA students will go to Dublin, Ireland, with Dr. Richard Kouri, professor of practice and director of the college’s BioSciences Management Initiative. This team will be working on a live case analysis with leading bio-tech firms in Dublin.
In summer 2013, 30 students in the Jenkins Online MBA program will have their international residency in Beijing, China, led by Dr. John McCreery, associate professor and director of the college’s Master of Global Innovation Management program.
McCreery said the study tour, which will include company tours, will provide the students with an exposure to the Chinese business environment, including:
- The macro-forces that have influenced China’s rise to a global economic power
- Business challenges it faces in the future
- Issues to be addressed as it evolves from a low cost producer of goods to a global provider of higher-end services and innovative solutions.
Poole College also has two one-year dual degree masters programs offered in partnership with business schools in France.
In the Master of Global Innovation Management (MGIM) program, launched in 2008, students complete a series of management and innovation courses at NC State’s Poole College in the fall semester, followed by a spring semester at the program’s partner school, the IAE Graduate School of Management, part of the Université Paul Cézanne in Aix, France. While in France, they also complete an innovation practicum project with French companies and present reports to the college’s Center for Innovation Management Studies during its spring meeting in Raleigh, N.C. Several of this year’s students are posting updates about their experiences in France in the student blog on the MGIM website.
In fall 2012, Poole College launched the Global Luxury Management option in the Jenkins MGIM, taught jointly with the Sophia Antipolis, France, campus of SKEMA, a global business school that also has a campus on NC State’s Centennial Campus. Students in this program complete their fall semester at NC State, taking courses in Poole College and NC State’s College of Textiles, and their spring semester France. The program has 18 students in its first year.
Both Jenkins MGIM options include project based learning and international internships as part of the curriculum.
Poole College also collaborates with SKEMA’s NC State Centennial campus, with Poole faculty teaching sessions in SKEMA’s courses, and SKEMA’s students attending Poole College events, such as the college’s Wells Fargo Executive Series presentations. SKEMA, in return, has made its international internship database available to Poole College’s students and presents career workshops for Poole students.
The college’s Jenkins Master of Accounting program also offers a study abroad program in Prague, Czech Republic, typically attended by 15 to 20 accounting students and taught by a Poole College professor.
