Source: Swinder Janda, 785-532-5439, swinder@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Olivia Blanco, oblanco@k-state.edu

Friday, March 18, 2011

LEARNING EUROPEAN BUSINESS FIRSTHAND AMONG TRAVEL OPPORTUNITIES FOR BUSINESS STUDENTS

MANHATTAN -- Kansas State University students are getting ready to spend spring break learning about European business on a trip to London and Birmingham in the United Kingdom and Munich, Germany.

The trip is being led by Swinder Janda, professor of marketing in K-State's College of Business Administration.

The 19 students on the trip are in Janda's International Business class and have been learning about globalization, trade and business trends during the first part of the semester. While on their trip they will visit Cadbury Chocolate, BMW, Fuller's Brewery and the famed department store Harrods.

Students at the College of Business Administration have many opportunities to travel abroad on faculty-led trips. During winter break, 24 students, alumni and faculty spent 12 days touring China with Janda. The group visited Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong.

The faculty-led trip was part of a Business in China course taught by Janda, who is the Paul Edgerley Chair in Global Business. Students saw firsthand the business environment in the country, including its growth and business opportunities.

"China is a huge emerging market and has a fast-growing economy, which implies that our students need to be familiar with this market as many companies that will likely hire our graduates will have business interests in China," Janda said. "Moreover, China is one of our biggest trading partners and a huge opportunity area for U.S.-based companies across a variety of industries. Therefore, it's important for our students to have a deeper understanding of the Chinese business environment."

The aspect that Janda likes most about the China study abroad class is the change that he sees in the students after the trip. It’s inherently satisfying for him as an educator to see the students become more confident in their ability to travel and work anywhere in the world. Janda also said that the students are much more world-minded in terms of realizing how much our economy is interrelated with other countries, particularly China, in terms of trade.

"The trip was a big eye-opener for them," Janda said. "Many of my students have expressed to me that they could not have imagined the opportunities and the developments in China without having personally visited the country."

Students visiting the United Kingdom and Germany during spring break include:

Jessica French, senior in accounting, Fontana.

From Greater Kansas City: Kyle Corbett, senior in marketing and management, Leawood; Amanda George, senior in marketing, Lenexa; Victoria Behnen, junior in psychology and management, Sarah Chalupa, senior in marketing and modern languages, Dane Forsberg, junior in accounting, Kristen Rock, senior in marketing, all from Overland Park; and Kelli Hall, master's student in accounting, Shawnee.

Danielle Dugan, senior in marketing, Goddard; Nicholas Moeder, senior in finance and accounting, LaCrosse; Lyndsey Bates, senior in marketing, Leavenworth; Danielle Tolle, sophomore in marketing, Newton; Carlie Weibert, senior in hotel and restaurant management, Scott City; Kacy Kawaguchi, junior in management, Topeka; and Jackie Spahn, senior in accounting, Wichita.

From out of state: Alison Manthei, senior in management and marketing, Pine Island, Minn.; and Matthew Marchesini, senior in management and marketing, Loudonville, N.Y.

From China: Qinxi Fan, senior in accounting, Chengdu; and Jia Qi Du, junior in accounting, Guangzhou.