News: Business School Forges Connections with International Community

Our alumni and prospective students live all over the world, and we facilitate international connections by providing increasingly diverse travel abroad opportunities and alumni outreach.

While study abroad opportunities have long been part of the business school's curriculum, they continue to proliferate as we learn about their enriching impact on students.  The business school offers study abroad opportunities for graduate and undergraduate-level business students, with programs in Cologne, Germany; Copenhagen, Denmark; Marseille, France; Osaka, Japan; Asolo and Paderno, Italy; Guadalajara, Mexico; Beijing and Guangzhou, China; and Rosario, Argentina.   These include both faculty-led short term programs as well as term- or year-long study abroad experiences.

The Master of International Management (MIM) program includes a required three-week study tour of companies in China, Japan and Korea.  With a student body of 40% foreign nationals and a program emphasis on business operations in the Pacific Rim, the MIM program embraces international connections.  In addition to the Asian study tour, MIM curriculum emphasizes cross-cultural communication, and language training in Mandarin Chinese or Japanese.
The business school strives to expand international opportunities for students, and has leveraged its extensive alumni network in the Middle East to create a first-time two-week study tour to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for graduate and upper division undergraduate students this winter. The course, worth four credits, will feature courses taught by Portland State faculty.  One course will focus on clean technology during the first week in Abu Dhabi, including tours and lectures from Masdar, a carbon neutral community currently under construction, OTAK, Hydrogen Energy, and the Urban Planning Council. Students will then travel to Riyadh to learn about global finance. Tours and lectures will include Morgan Stanley, Sabic, Sagia and Fal Com Investment Bank.

Also this winter, graduate-level business students can elect to take a Social Enterprise field study in India.  The four week course involves a two-week trip to India and aims to give students a broad, yet practical, knowledge of social enterprise. During this rigorous four-week experiential program, students will learn about social enterprise theory and practice from a pioneering Oxford University lecturer, then travel to India to gain first hand experience by visiting social enterprises, conducting field research and project consulting, and speaking with industry experts and social entrepreneurs in Southern India.

Many of the business school's students came to Portland State from outside the U.S., and many more end up abroad after receiving their degrees.  After receiving her MBA in 2001, Elizabeth Kupillas '01 worked in the U.S. IT department of PepsiAmericas in Chicago, IL.  When the company launched an initiative to align its operations in the U.S. and Europe, Elizabeth was selected to move to the European Headquarter office in Budapest, Hungary.  "Working in Budapest is a great opportunity both professionally and personally.  There is so much to learn working outside of the U.S.  Learning the language and managing everyday activities like grocery shopping was a challenge at first," explained Elizabeth.  But the perks and opportunities far outweigh the challenges:  "Budapest is beautiful, friendly, and centrally located in Europe.  It's easy to travel to many of the most beautiful places in the world, even for a weekend. In fact, next weekend I am traveling to Milan. I never thought I'd be able to say that!"

While Elizabeth used her degree to pursue international opportunities, other alumni came to Portland State from abroad to experience the U.S. from an international perspective.  Joachim Bandke '01 came to Portland State by way of Stuttgart, Germany, where he received a degree from Reutlingen University near Stuttgart: "A partnership program brought me to PSU, and the reason for not staying in Portland - I loved Portland! - is that the job market was not very friendly when I got my MBA in 2001. So I returned to Stuttgart, Germany and joined DaimlerChrysler, now Daimler AG."  Joachim enjoyed Portland so much he's been back twice to visit friends.

Our adventurous students, alumni and colleagues continue to connect the SBA to programs and people all over the world.  The SBA plans to sustain and expand on these connections for the benefit of future students.