DePaul students stayed overnight at the Yachiyo Ryokan and participated in a traditional Japanese dinner during their last night of the 10-day trip throughout Japan, which was led by professors Zafar Iqbal and Luis Larrea.
Students traveled via ferry to Miyajima, a small island in Hiroshima, to visit the Grand Torii Gate, which marks the entrance to the Itsukushima Shrine.
Students had tea with Lord Mayor of Belfast in Northern Ireland. The 10-day trip focused on Brexit's impact on the global economy and was led by Professor Thomas Mondschean.
DePaul business students gained knowledge about luxury brand marketing in Paris during a study abroad trip led by Assistant Professor of Marketing James Mourey during spring break 2017.
During a tour of the legendary Fauchon in Paris, DePaul study abroad students learned first-hand about the marketing strategies of this century-old gourmet food emporium.
DePaul MBA alumnus Jean-Charles Perino (left), executive vice president of marketing for the upscale Paris-to-New York airline La Compagnie, received a DePaul t-shirt presented by Assistant Professor James Mourey. Perino met with Mourey’s study abroad class in Paris this spring to discuss the airline’s marketing strategy.
As part of DePaul's International Business Seminar Short-Term Programs, students spent a week in Qatar where they met with Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani, Chairman and CEO of Al Faisal Holding.
Students pose in front of the Doha skyline. Located on the Persian Gulf, Doha is the largest city and capital of Qatar.
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After dune bashing (off-roading) through the Khor Al Adaid nature reserve, students stood on one of the towering golden sand dunes.
“Talking with all of these other professionals about what they do and how their
careers took off, what was important to them at an early age and what they did
that led them to be successful– that was really beneficial to me,” he says.
The 10-day International
Business Seminar Short-Term Program to Ireland is one of about a dozen offered by the
Driehaus College of Business throughout the year. The programs are available to
both graduate and undergraduate business students who can earn four credits
while traveling abroad and complete assignments that relate to the topic of the
course.
Joerg’s trip to Ireland focused on business conditions in a post-Brexit economy
and included excursions to Dublin and Belfast, where students had tea with the
Lord Mayor.
“It was amazing to see how everything is interconnected – we live in a global
economy,” Joerg says. “Something like Brexit can really have a domino effect
even on Northern Ireland’s exporting costs.”
Associate
Professor of Marketing Zafar Iqbal says one of the
goals of the college’s study abroad trips are to ensure students gain a global
perspective by the time they enter the workforce. Iqbal serves as the director
of the Driehaus Center for International Business at the Driehaus College of
Business.
“There’s something about learning in class versus applying a concept in real
life,” says Iqbal, who leads annual study abroad trips to Japan and India, as
well as leading a visit to Dubai in the past. “You can learn a concept, but if you can
actually apply a concept in an internship or full-time job, you can really
absorb it. And I treat study abroad the same way in which a student can take a
concept learned in class and actually get to see it in action.”
Not only do the trips give students a chance to interact with executives at companies for which they may one day work, but it also leads to job opportunities. Iqbal recently did a survey of students who have gone to India trips and found 20 out of 130 students are either in India working or are in India-related positions.
“These trips make our students sensible risk-takers, people who are willing to
explore the world,” he says. “I think it also helps position them better in
interviews as well.”
DePaul marketing undergraduate Paola Guerrero-Toledo recently went on a trip
during the spring to Japan led by Iqbal and Executive-in-Residence Luis Larrea.
The study abroad trip exposed the senior to Japan’s business culture and
included visits to global companies such as Hogarth Ogilvy, Van Cleef & Arpel and Chuo Electric Works.
Following graduation in June, Guerrero-Toledo will start a position in Dallas as
category manager and insights associate at international brand Frito-Lay.
“In marketing classes, you hear about how you’re supposed to cater to the
customer and understand what you want and understand company values,” she says.
“You hear it so much in class and you think you understand it but I didn’t
really understand it until I heard from companies about their process.”
Learn more about the Driehaus College of Business's International Business Seminar Short-Term Programs.