The Center for Asian Business organized and sponsored two exciting international businesses courses for LMU students this summer – “Global Sustainability: Challenges and Prospects in East Asia” and “Exploring Asian Culture.”
Management Professor Ivan Montiel accompanied 24 juniors and seniors to Seoul, Korea and Tokyo, Japan from May 10 – 23 to learn about environmental and sustainability practices in East Asia as part of a new spring course on global sustainability. This course explored corporate sustainability challenges and opportunities in a global context with a particular emphasis on East Asian countries. Twenty-four hours of instruction was taught during the spring semester before students traveled overseas.
The trip included corporate visits to Parsons Brinckerhoff, Songdo Smart City, Seoul Energy Dream Center and Nami Island to learn about sustainable tourism as well as NEC, Ariake Incineration Plant and Second Harvest Japan. The class also had the chance to visit a few cultural sites in both cities.
Marketing Professor Sijun Wang accompanied 18 freshmen and sophomores to Seoul and Busan, Korea and Beijing and Shanghai, China from May 10 – 25 as part of the “Exploring Asian Culture” course. Students attended lectures at LMU during the spring semester before embarking on two weeks overseas visiting cultural and historical sites, attending on-site lectures and visiting local companies. In Korea, they visited the American Embassy, DMZ, Changdeok Palace, Samsung Innovation Museum and the Hyundai Auto Plant. China sites included the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, Silk Market as well as corporate visits to Baidu, KMPG and Ping An Insurance.
Since 2009, the Center for Asian Business has sent 106 students to Asia as part of this course. Taking advantage of the worldwide network of Jesuit universities, the course is designed to help students enhance their understanding about the history, culture and business practices of East Asian countries.
“We are very pleased to offer these experiential learning courses for LMU students to gain in-depth knowledge about China, Korea and Japan,” said Yongsun Paik, director of the Center for Asian Business who developed these courses and accompanied students overseas. “These countries represent the top three trading partners for the State of California after Mexico and Canada, and also rank among the top six for the U.S. economy. These international business courses provide LMU students with eye-opening experiences that will have great impact on their future career development in today’s global economy.”
For more information on how to get involved in these courses for 2016, please visit the Center for Asian Business website or contact Marki Hackett at marki.hackett@lmu.edu.