Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/269179
42 March/April 2014 BizEd Vi ng e rAn /Th i n ksTock faculty members with international backgrounds tend to better under- stand our Asian students and their needs. For instance, Maital is an Israeli-born Canadian national; Demuijnck, a Belgian; and Sarkar, an Indian-born American national based at Temple University in Phil- adelphia, Pennsylvania. It is also important for business schools to recruit students from all over the world to ensure that there is not a dominant group of English speakers or of any one nationality. A high number of Asian students could result in sub-populations of students who live in their own com- munities and have little or no direct contact with the rest of their class. Some American institutions are now instituting peer-mentoring programs and placing international student liaisons in dorms to encourage more interaction and discourage the for- mation of sub-groups. Beyond the Classroom To ensure that Asian students will be successful in the classroom, many schools are adopting new approaches to integrating their international students successfully: Expanded orientations. Some undergraduate institutions are creat- ing extended orientation courses for Asian students. Mount Holyoke Col- lege in Massachusetts, for example, administers a yearlong international student program that includes work- shops on topics such as overcoming culture shock, filing income taxes, and using the counseling center. Workshops. At EDHEC, we orga- nize a one-day session that offers students lessons on interpreting different cultures. It's not focused solely on Asia, but it gives all of our students a head start for interacting with their international peers. Targeted career counseling. Asian students often are used to a job application process where family connections and social status can be crucial. Our career counselors help them adopt more Western approaches to writing their CVs and networking for certain job searches. Language study. While most Asian students already are profi- cient in English, at EDHEC we also encourage students to take French language courses early in their pro- grams so they have an easier time fitting into French culture. Social media use. Some schools send tweets to students with tips and lessons regarding the new country or direct them to a Face- book page where they can interact with student ambassadors who are trained to offer advice before and after their programs begin. Travel for students and staff. To better address the growing importance of Asia in business, international programs could focus more specifically on emerging Asian countries. For instance, all students in EDHEC's Global MBA program take a trip to Singapore to meet executives from both Asian and Western companies. Some U.S. undergraduate programs take that approach one step further—they send their front-line staff members to China to develop more awareness of the needs of Chinese students. A few years ago, Michigan State Uni- versity, for example, sent members of its residence hall staff to Beijing. Cultural Integration By integrating culturally sensitive strategies into every aspect of their programs, business schools can help everyone in their communi- ties better understand one another and receive maximum benefit from their MBA experience. We must view the increased presence of Asian students on our campuses as an opportunity for innovation and modernization. Asian students can teach us much about their home- lands, work ethics, savoir-faire, and creativity. It's certainly my hope that business school profes- sionals will seize this opportunity to better prepare themselves and their students for the exciting future that lies ahead. emmanuel Métais is director of the eDhec global MBA at eDhec Busi- ness school in nice, France. eDhec also has campuses in Lille and Paris, France; London; and singapore. This year, nearly 200,000 people took Common Admission Test, the entrance exam for India's management and business schools. Y K As an international, multi-campus business school, S uses innovative teaching and learning methods to train tomorrow's decision-makers. Its graduates have in-depth understanding of the knowledge economy, are highly adaptable and capable of delivering sustainable performance. The school's mission is to form students as global knowledge economy talents. The school has fi ve campuses in France (Paris, Lille and Sophia Antipolis) and internationally (Suzhou in China and Raleigh in the USA), stating its ambition to be located in tomorrow's economic centres. Contact internationalprograms@skema.edu www.skema.edu S Business School The global experience > 6,500 students, 100 nationalities on campus > Wide range of programmes: Bachelors, Master in Management, Masters of Science, Specialised Masters, PhD, Executive Education > All students do international study or work experience > 57% of graduates start career in international positions > Worldwide alumni network of 30,000