Global Learning

New short-term study abroad program in China opens up opportunities for graduate business students.

Globalization is an increasingly important aspect for any business major, and participating in a study-abroad program can augment the understanding of global issues. But for those in the part-time graduate study programs, taking a long stretch of time off work to study in another country just isn’t feasible.

With that in mind, LAU’s School of Business has launched a unique one-week study-abroad opportunity for MBA and EMBA students in China.

China is globally acknowledged as the “Emerging Second Superpower of the World.” It remains a communist country with a significant legacy of a command economy, but it is also a market economy. Understanding this mixture is a major goal of the study abroad program, explains Prof. Dr. Zafar U. Ahmed, Professor of Marketing and International Business.

Study abroad is an exciting and challenging pursuit which allows students to immerse themselves in the academic life and culture of another country. “China is a very different business environment for those accustomed to western business systems.,” said Dr. Ahmed. “The primary objective of this program is to give an insightful and detailed understanding of China’s business environment today and tomorrow,” he added.



The program will focus on studying the dynamics of China’s economic emergence through visits to Chinese business enterprises, factories and industrial complexes. Students will have the opportunity to learn about business from an international perspective and experience Chinese culture first-hand. Participants will network with students, faculty and professionals from all over China.

The twenty-six EMBA/MBA students, who enrolled in this three-credit course “Doing Business in and with China”, left Beirut on June 3 to study Chinese Business System at the Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) and visit six specially selected Multinational Corporations (MNCs) operating across Shanghai.

Since this is a pilot program, LAU leadership will assess feedback from partner institutions and participants and evaluate whether to expand the program to include more courses in other countries in the foreseeable future, explains Dr. Elias Raad, Director of Executive Education Programs at the School of Business.

This addition to LAU’s School of Business global offerings has been welcomed by numerous part-time students enrolled in LAU’s EMBA program.

“Based on the students’ post-program evaluation, they believe the experience made them more knowledgeable contributors within their organizations”, says Mr. Hisham Hashash, staff member at LAU and one of the project champions. “It provides them with more opportunities for international exposure. Giving them as many of these on-the-ground opportunities as possible that are interesting to them is key,” he said.