Taking steps to increase your cultural competence and better understand the world around you will enrich and transform your student experience. Reflecting on biases you may hold and challenging yourself to acknowledge and accept different ways of thinking grows you as a person and prepares you to succeed in whatever career path you choose. Finally, many companies and graduate schools desire candidates who have the ability to work well with people from many cultural backgrounds.

Look into cultural norms for the country you are interested in traveling to experience. Be aware that culture is more that food, clothing, and music. How do folks in the culture you are discovering view family, independence, the importance of trust and communication, and how do they make decisions? These are some of the questions that will allow you to dig a little deeper. 

Immerse Yourself

Take some time to look into cultural norms for the country you are interested in traveling to experience. It is important to familiarize yourself with your study abroad country. 

It is recommended to look into culture, history, geography, laws, government, holidays and more in order to make sure you are prepared. For example if you are excited to explore a Muslim majority country during Ramadan, you will want to familiarize yourself with the new hours businesses and attractions will have as majority of the country will amend their work hours to accommodate those that are fasting during the month of Ramadan. If you are used to shops being open 24/7 and choose to study a country such as Spain that have afternoon rest closures, you will want to be prepared to time accordingly!

Reach out to others who have studied abroad or visited some of the countries you are most interested in for their own tips. If there are any cultural programs held on campus, it would be important to attend and learn more about any faux pas that should be avoided. Also be mindful what may be considered polite in your culture may be rude in another, and the vice versa is also true.

One of the best ways to be prepared is to form even a basic knowledge of the language. It can make a world of difference when you are able to communicate and engage with your surroundings. Duolingo, courses at UConn or Community Colleges, and fluent loved ones are a great way to begin!

If you need a good starting point, the link below from the Department of State has quick notes on over 150 countries. This can be a great foundation to start, as you look into any countries of interest.

BUSN 1801: 2 Credit Course

Building Intercultural Competencies for Business

This course will help you build your intercultural knowledge and awareness for global business and give you tools to address a wide variety of cultural scenarios and differences.

Join Arminda Kamphausen, Associate Director, Global Business Programs to:

• Grow in self-awareness through reflection
• Learn the cultural dimensions that impact a people groups worldview
• Explore cultural norms across a variety of international settings
• Experience cultural exchange virtually through engagement in the U21 Global Citizenship program (below)
• Produce a final project focused on the country/culture of your choosing 

The U21 Global Citizenship program is an experiential online program that develops the skills and competencies students need to advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG). The course will focus on the UN SDGs and equipping students to take action in these areas to become Global Citizens.

Across nine hours of learning (three hours per week) built on the Common Purpose Open Source Leadership model, students will engage with and learn from each other and (through video content), inspiring future and current senior leaders across the world. They will participate in experiential activities and exercises, complete offline tasks and reflections, and work on their own individual plans to advance their Sustainable Development Goal. At the end of the program, they can earn the Global Citizenship micro-credential, demonstrating to the world that they’ve developed the skills to tackle complex global issues and stand up as leaders. 

Students will be:

• Equipped to take rapid action on the Sustainable Development Goal that they choose 
• Able to step outwards and collaborate with diverse networks 
• Ready to challenge preconceptions and better inform other people’s perspectives 
• Better equipped to operate across hierarchies  
• Better prepared to live and maintain your values and integrity 
• Better connected to U21 students around the world

Upon completing the course, students will also eligible to become part of the Common Purpose alumni and take part in offers for this group.

Can't go abroad but still want the experience of working in an international space? Virtual Internships are a great alternative!

The Virtual Internship in London is a 12-week program during the fall and spring semesters that allows students to gain practical experience with a Business related internship while earning academic credit.

The deadline to apply for Spring 2023 is October 1st!

Global Business Programs creates immersive, interactive opportunities for students to experience international business. Global Business implements programs that focus on cultural competency and sustainability, so our students are prepared for success in the global marketplace. They offer multiple ways to engage such as:

• Case competitions (opportunities below!)
• Global Citizenship
• Global Cultures Conference
• Professional Development programs in Export and Sustainability
• Global Sustainability Summit
• Global Business Ambassadors 

Global Business Ambassadors (GBAs):

• Serve as leaders in the Global Business Programs community
• Sit on our student advisory board to provide direct student input
• Network with global professionals in the field of their interest
• Engage in international business experiences
• Gain intercultural competency and knowledge in sustainable business

Scroll to see what our GBA's love about global business!

Global Business School Network

Students will be challenged with the fundamental reminder of the definition of logistics: coordinated separate activities which combine to one organized movement of goods, services, and people. This challenge incorporates this essential philosophy of logistics into the new and innovative study of social logistics, which aims to introduce a social (human) factor in the systems and to apply logistics principles and methods in solving problems within society.

Inclusive in this experience will be student-only networking sessions and open office hours for the GBSN team and experts to assist students in solution development.

Application deadline:

October 20th

Questrom Sustainability

The Questrom $50K Sustainability Case Competition will ask interdisciplinary / cross-program student teams, to grapple with and develop solutions for real-life sustainability challenges. The overarching theme of the case competition is on Sustainability, with the following objectives:

Seek to solve a current real-world problem

Develop solutions that will be commercially and practically viable to build and implement, and ultimately generate a profit and/or support further sustainability initiatives(i.e., analyze and recommend direction amongst multiple strategic choices a company is considering in real-time).

Application deadline:

September 17, 2022