Students from the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Business will learn first-hand about the culture of doing business in Germany.
For the first time, SIUE business majors, traveled to Germany for a fall session. The SIUE School of Business has been sending students to Germany in the spring and summer for more than seven years, said SIUE School of Business Interim Dean John Navin.
The trips are part of SIUE’s annual student exchange with Hochschule Hanover University. Two SIUE students, Eric Allard and Megan Melliere, recently left for Europe for their German experience.
“Part of their education is cultural awareness, as it relates to Germany,” said Navin. “They get to learn a different kind of business practice.”
It’s important to learn the culture, so that students don’t make mistakes that could cost them business, Navin added. The dean, who speaks German, is a product of a German school exchange. Navin attended a semester at the University of Salzburg in Austria.
“I enjoy visiting Germany and return often,” he said.
This past summer, a total of 10 students traveled to Munich, Berlin and Hanover. Accompanying them were Navin, James Klenke, dean of Students and associate vice chancellor for Student Affairs, Henning Austmann, a professor from Hochschule Hanover, and five German students. The German members of the group served as hosts and trip planners.
While in Germany, the students visited such sites as various businesses, factories, museums, the Berlin Wall and Sachsenhausen concentration camp.
Among the many benefits of the trip for SIUE students, according to Dean Klenke was “Engaging the German students and making friends with them. They have continued this friendship technologically and two students are returning to study full time at the Hochschule Hanover.”