The tag, "made in China," could take on a new meaning
with the Eastern Michigan University College of Business'
new partnership with the Macao University of Science and
Technology (MUST).
David Mielke, dean of EMU's College of Business, said
the new partnership is important for more than just increasing
enrollment.
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Mielke |
"The College of Business has its branding as 'Innovative,
Applied and Global'. We have a major commitment to internationalizing
the college and to bringing students from all over the
world," said Mielke. "One way to instill the importance
of international study for our Michigan students is to
bring students from other parts of the world here. Hopefully,
these students will then inspire them to also study abroad."
Mielke said that EMU ranks 17th for the number of international
students for a master's level institution, according to
the Institute of International Education.
"This new agreement demonstrates our commitment to increase
that number and to improve our position," Mielke said.
The new agreement also could help EMU make inroads into
other areas for similar agreements.
"The students at MUST come from 26 provinces in China
so our agreement has far-reaching implications for building
our connections there," said Mielke.
Students who complete the program will receive a bachelor's
of business administration degree from EMU.
While the first group of students from MUST will not arrive
at EMU until the fall, Mielke said interest in the program
is higher than expected.
"Our partners (at MUST) scheduled a time for me to meet
with interested students," Mielke said of a recent trip
to Macao. "I expected to meet 25-30 students. I entered
an auditorium with 250 students waiting to meet me. The
students' biggest concern was how many students we would
accept into this program."
The Special Administrative Region of Macao is part of
the Peoples Republic of China and lies about 43 miles southwest
of Hong Kong.
Although it is about eight square miles in size and is
made up of a small peninsula and two small islands, it
is one of the most densely populated areas in China, with
more than 500,000 people. Macao's economy is primarily
based around tourism.
This partnership marks the second international connection
for the College of Business. The COB also has a dual undergraduate
degree program with Keimyung University in Daegu, Korea.
