University of Massachusetts Boston MBA Students Travel to China to Study Entrepreneurship
A class of 16 graduate students from the College of Management recently returned from a two-week trip to China, where they met with executives from some of country’s leading companies and fast-growing industries as they immersed themselves in Beijing’s booming corporate sector and cultural history.
Led by Professor Raymond Liu, the course “Entrepreneurship in China and the U.S.” included students from the college’s masters degree programs in business administration and accounting. The students lived at China’s prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing and combined their company visits with tours of local historic sites such as the Great Wall and the Forbidden City.
For Liu, a native of China who is a tenured professor of marketing, introducing American business students to entrepreneurs and executives in China provides critical exposure to China’s super-charged economy.
“This is a great opportunity for UMass Boston management students to hear from the leaders of some of China’s biggest companies, as well as executives launching their own start-ups,” said Liu. “This class offers the chance to talk to leaders of companies that are part of one of the most powerful economies we’ve ever seen and lets our students see first-hand the dramatic transformations affecting many aspects of Chinese society.”
The growing international component offered by the graduate programs in the College of Management – which will soon add an M.S. in International Management – is part of a value-added strategy the college has undertaken to connect graduate business students with the powerful international trends of rapidly globalizing economies. Other international courses include trips to India and Ireland.
“We are Boston’s public business school and that requires a focus on developing business leaders who can look at the Massachusetts economy with a global perspective,” said Dean Phillip Quaglieri. “An understanding of international management and economic trends is directly relevant to local expertise. The Massachusetts economy is a global enterprise and our faculty and students examine these trends in exciting and dynamic ways.”
Stephanie Reck, a first-year student in the MBA program and president of the Graduate Business Association, took the course to add an international perspective to her portfolio. "Having international business exposure gives us a competitive edge in the increasingly crowded MBA space, while the networking opportunities and knowledge that can be attained from spending two intense weeks with a small group of people further enhances the experience,” said Reck, a marketing assistant with Elixir Pharmaceuticals.
This trip’s itinerary included visits with executives at companies in the areas of banking, health care, high tech, automotive manufacturing, equity brokerage, real estate development, publishing, and the bond market.
In between company visits, the group saw some of China’s most treasured historic sites, including the Great Wall, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace and the tomb of Ming Dynasty emperors. Further explorations were made at some of Beijing’s most well-known restaurants, to sample the many varieties of Chinese cuisine, as well as forays to Beijing’s shopping districts, for first-hand lessons on product, price and promotion.
“My decision to participate in the China MBA program was driven by gaining exposure to Chinese culture, the business environment, the economy, and ultimately to compare the Chinese way of life to the U.S way of life. The trip exceeded my expectations and was an experience of a lifetime,” said third-year MBA student Christina Wurster, a sales representative with GlaxoSmithKline.
Liu, a professor of marketing, first conceived of the course three years ago, taking advantage of his contacts in his native country at a time when the world was just beginning to focus not just on the effect of China’s economic might on the U.S. consumer, but on the American executive.
“There are, of course, many distinct differences between the economies and governments in the U.S. and China,” said Liu, who is currently conducting research into internet marketing and corporate decision-making in China. “Americans are searching for and finding business opportunities in China and Asia. This course gives our students the chance to not just see these developments, but to make contacts and perhaps pursue opportunities of their own after they graduate.”
The chance to learn about the economy and business culture of China’s capital city of 16 million was a learning opportunity not to be missed.
“There are precious few opportunities in life to broaden one's academic portfolio in this way,” said Joe Rofino, a first-year MBA student and an operations specialist at Eaton Vance. “You cannot replace this with on the job training -- if your business is global, this experience is invaluable. Employers know that, and they will pay to get it.”
For more information about the graduate programs in the College of Management, please see http://www.management.umb.edu/.