College of Business seeking students for 2-week Singapore Experience

The Mike Cottrell College of Business (MCCB) is looking to build on the success of its "London Experience" with the inaugural "Singapore Experience" in May 2019.

From May 11-25, the program will feature visits to five to seven large corporate offices and manufacturing plants; as well as a stop in Doha, Qatar; a company visit in Malaysia; and a day and a half at a resort in Indonesia.

Students may use the overseas experience as part of a three-credit-hour online international business course or a one-hour-credit excursion. It is open for 15-20 students, including non-business students who want to use it as an elective credit.

Warren King, lecturer in the Management and Marketing Department in the MCCB, will lead the Singapore Experience. He previously lived in Singapore, a city-state between Malaysia and Indonesia in Southeast Asia.

Large numbers of Chinese, Indian, Malaysian, Indonesian, Arab, Australian, and Japanese people live in Singapore.

"Singapore is an unusual place because it's very much a mixture of Southeast Asian cultures," King said.

Among the planned business stops are Coca-Cola Asia; Cisco Asia; HAVI Global, the exclusive supply and distribution company for McDonald's; and a production plant in Malaysia that crushes and processes cocoa beans.

"The students will find out how business is done in Asia and experience the wonderful cultural variety that exists in Singapore," King said.

Students can apply to be part of the program on the Center for Global Engagement website.

The cost includes airfare, hotels, local transportation and much of the food for the two weeks.

King said students will have a good amount of free time to explore Singapore, where English is the primary language.

The London Experience is a 25-year staple of the MCCB that lasts 10 days during spring break.

"The London Experience has been a huge success," King said. "We're trying to duplicate that with Singapore."

Sadie Foote, study abroad adviser with the Center for Global Engagement, appreciates how the Singapore program will offer a different perspective from some of the university's other overseas experiences. A hub of shipping and trade, Singapore blends one of the most modern cities in the world with the continued presence of traditional influences, Foote said.

For more information on the Singapore Experience, contact King at warren.king@ung.edu or 678-936-3904.