{"id":4729,"date":"2006-11-01T12:13:20","date_gmt":"2006-11-01T16:13:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/?p=4729"},"modified":"2014-11-14T16:03:59","modified_gmt":"2014-11-14T21:03:59","slug":"first-imba-china-track-students-complete-month-long-international-residency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/2006\/11\/first-imba-china-track-students-complete-month-long-international-residency\/","title":{"rendered":"First IMBA China track students complete month-long international residency."},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/strong>
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWho gets to go to China for a month, learn Chinese in China, meet Chinese people, and travel in the country?\u201d<\/p>\n

Shirley Lowe<\/strong> (IMBA \u201906) posed this question and had a simple answer: \u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
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\nShirley Lowe<\/strong> (IMBA \u201906) at the Summer Palace, Beijing, China<\/em><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

She and Bruce Welch<\/strong> (BBA \u201905), financial analyst, consumer products, MTV Networks Latin America, Viacomm, were the first students to travel to China as part of the China track option offered in the College of Business Administration\u2019s International MBA (IMBA) program. Begun in 2005, the track offers students the opportunity to study Mandarin stateside and during an intensive one-month residency at a university in China.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recognize that language proficiency is key for people who want to expand their careers into China, where some of the most exciting business opportunities in the world now exist,\u201d said Paola Moreno<\/strong>, associate director, international graduate programs.<\/p>\n

In addition to extensive class time studying Mandarin at Nankai University in Tianjin, Lowe and Welch had eight sessions of a course called Graduate Business Economics<\/em>, practiced tai chi, had demonstrations on calligraphy and Chinese food, and saw many of China\u2019s renowned landmarks, including Tiananmen Square, the emperor\u2019s Summer Palace, and the Great Wall.<\/p>\n

Track positions professionals for global success.<\/em><\/p>\n

Lowe chose the IMBA because her parents both have business dealings abroad\u2014her mother in Latin America and her father, who is Chinese, in China\u2014and she wanted to be able to help.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was interested in the IMBA, and when I found out about the China track, I called Moreno immediately to find out more,\u201d said Lowe, who recently began a position as a financial planner with John Hancock. \u201cI thought the twelve-month, full-time structure of the IMBA was great, and the China track is what really decided me on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMTV is already doing licenses in China, so I can see future opportunities in China or elsewhere in Asia,\u201d said Welch, who expects to graduate in March, 2007, with a joint Master of Science in Finance (MSF)-IMBA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\nBruce Welch<\/strong> (BBA \u201905) at the entrance to the Forbidden City, Beijing, China<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Surprises greet the travelers.<\/em><\/p>\n

Though both had read about the country, some of the realities were more dramatic than they were prepared to encounter.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know things about the country, you study it, but it\u2019s not until you see it with your own eyes that you realize that it\u2019s true,\u201d Welch said. \u201cFor example, the number of people on bikes was amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

And while they were aware of the impressive development the country has achieved, Lowe and Welch did notice one of the unavoidable consequences.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pollution was very heavy and it affected us as well as the Chinese,\u201d Lowe said.<\/p>\n

Future students will benefit from the trail blazers.<\/em><\/p>\n

As the first two students to go to China as part of their IMBA program, Lowe and Welch have been able to offer valuable input to the program\u2019s staff to help shape the experiences for future participants.<\/p>\n

For example, next year Qingdao University, situated in the Chinese eastern seaside city of Qingdao, will host the residency, and students will take more business courses.<\/p>\n

Despite the challenges associated with being the first to make the trip, neither has any regrets.<\/p>\n

\u201cLearning Mandarin will be a huge help in my future business plans,\u201d Welch said, and, according to Lowe, \u201cThe trip was awesome, and I would say to anyone considering the track, \u2018Don\u2019t think twice. Do it.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWho gets to go to China for a month, learn Chinese in China, meet Chinese people, and travel in the country?\u201d Shirley Lowe (IMBA \u201906) posed this question and had a simple answer: \u201cI did.\u201d Shirley Lowe (IMBA \u201906) at the Summer Palace, Beijing, China She and Bruce Welch (BBA \u201905), financial analyst, consumer products, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7,10],"tags":[279,1151,2433],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4729"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/71"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4729"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4729\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24363,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4729\/revisions\/24363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}