Through an enlightening trip to China taken by UNM President Bob Frank and other UNM officials last year, the Anderson School of Management will be partnering with the Beijing Institute of Technology, Zhuhai (BITZH) to increase the influx of international students on campus.
The partnership aims to bring in Chinese students to Albuquerque to study business at Anderson.
These beneficial partnerships rely on familiar ground, according to Danielle Gilliam, administrative officer at the Global Education Office.
“The process begins when faculty or senior administrators make contact and develop relationships with counterparts at other institutions and find common areas for collaboration,” Gilliam said. “GEO assists in facilitating communication and preparing and agreement, as appropriate.”
As stated on the institute’s website, BITZHH currently collaborates with more than 200 distinguished universities in 58 regions and countries on six continents.
According to Gilliam, partnering with other schools provides lasting positive results, both overseas and in the Southwest.
“These partnerships benefit UNM by fostering collaboration between UNM faculty and partner faculty and by boosting enrollment in highly sought degree programs,” Gilliam said. “Also, international students who come to UNM through these partnerships enrich classroom discussions and campus life with their distinct points of view and experiences.”
Dean Craig White of ASM is also looking forward to the unity and the benefits of unique perspectives that international students bring to campus.
“In many ways, international students on campus bring a study abroad experience directly to New Mexico students,” White said. “International students have a cultural and educational perspective from their home country.”
Programs combining international students, accelerated curriculum and exposure to cultural differences, provide a smooth transition, he said.
“Agreements, such as the one with BITZH, allow a pathway for a successful integration of international students into the UNM community,” White said. “These students will be preparing both from an English language and business curriculum standpoint for three years prior to attending UNM.”
There are benefits at every angle, he said. Students in this program will graduate with a strong and valuable foundation, having an experience like no other.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
“This preparation and familiarity with the University should help create a positive experience for these students. From UNM’s perspective, the University benefits from efficiently utilizing educational capacity,” White said.
There are also added financial advantages, he said.
“The international students will be paying non-resident tuition while being incorporated into existing course sections,” White said.
The international students also benefit from learning about western ideology, he said, as they will have the opportunity to look at business from an overseas vantage point.
“Resident students gain a better understanding of the view of business and other topics from an external view while international students learn about American culture and curriculum,” White said.
White hopes the program also encourages local students to expand their horizons by studying abroad and/or help pinpoint other advantageous partnerships.
“The interaction between students at UNM may encourage New Mexico residents to expand their horizons to explore educational options overseas and, possibly, identify business opportunities within New Mexico, United States, and internationally,” he said.
Students at BITZH have the opportunity to get ahead beginning with their freshmen year and taking off with a jumpstart to a master’s degree, White said.
“The program with the Beijing Institute of Technology, Zhuhai begins in the student’s freshman year at BITZH,” he said. “The undergraduate core classes at BITZH are a mixture of its general curriculum and classes based on UNM Anderson School undergraduate business courses.”
Integrating business courses initially only makes the process smoother, according to White.
“The entire program will be taught in English at BITZH. Students will complete the fourth year of their study at the Anderson School,” he said.
Designed to accelerate the process of finishing an undergraduate and continuing on to tackle a master’s degree, this program resembles Anderson School’s current 3+2 program.
“The courses in the fourth year will count towards the BITZH undergraduate degree and serve as prerequisites for their graduate studies at the Anderson School,” White said. “At the end of the fourth year, the students will obtain their undergraduate degree from BITZH and apply for admission to the Anderson School’s graduate program.”
BITZH already provides programs taught only in English, four undergraduate and eleven graduate, he said. International students in this program will live on campus during the summers of their freshman, sophomore, and junior years for further exposure and advancement in speaking English.
This partnership would not have happened without the initial trip to China, and Frank says he is happy with the outcome of the visit.
“I’m really pleased to see such positive results from our outreach to China,” Frank said. “I hope this innovative approach keeps us in the vanguard of the global education experience.”
Later this month, White and ASM Professor Robert Luo will be traveling to China to participate in a ceremony to welcome the very first cohort of 82 students and families joining the program.
