A dozen MBA students spent the modular break in October on an academic trip to London and Brussels. The Bryan School regularly offers these mini-study abroad trips to its students to expose them to foreign business cultures and practices, but this was the first time an MBA trip visited these two European cities. Dr. Catherine Holderness who orchestrated the itinerary for the trip said the two cities were selected because of London’s importance as center of global finance and Brussels’ role as the capital of the European Union. The students attended daily lectures and visited companies, government institutions and cultural sites. A few of the highlights during the one-week tour were tours of the British and European Parliaments and visits to Goldman Sachs and the Center for Creative Leadership. “I feel really lucky to have been able to participate in such a well-organized, thought-out trip. The organization of our daily schedules was intense and was purposefully well-balanced with hands-on, educational, cultural, and exploratory opportunities. All of our hosts were extremely nice and many had planned great presentations, with VPs and managers sitting in on the presentations to answer any questions we had,” said Jessica Bays, a second-year student from the day program. Students received 1.5 credit hours for their week in Europe and another 1.5 credit hours for completing a research paper upon their return to UNCG. Next semester trips to Germany and Paris are being offered.

-November 2006