Every year during spring semester, an adventurous group of UW-Platteville students accompany Professor Louis Nzegwu to China for a 15-day tour, organized by the International Business Resource Center. While there, the students will tour Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. The deadline to sign up for the trip is Friday, Oct. 18.

The students will visit business and cultural sites and listen to presentations given by government officials, local businesses and university professors. The presentations will be on topics ranging from education to international business marketing.

Cultural differences can be overwhelming. Prior to leaving the country, students attend an orientation session which will help acclimate them to the new world they are about to see.

“Everything is so old. There are centuries of history over there,” Amanda Sorenson, a 2006 UW-P graduate, said. Traditions run deep. “The way of life in China is so symbolic down to what they wear, how they eat and what they do. And the cross between the modern and old world was amazing.”

In today’s world, with instant messaging, a 24-hour news cycle and internet access on every corner, spaces between people are getting smaller.

“We live in a global village,” Nzegwu said. “We cannot compete effectively with the world’s fastest-growing economy without understanding the culture. This is something you cannot get by going to Chinatown.”

“It’s a chance for people to understand that the entire world is not like America,” Amy Schackman, a senior business administration major, said. Students traveling to China next spring will be exposed to various business and cultural practices. One thing they will learn is that before businesses in China decide to work together, a bond or “guanxi” must be established to ensure trust.
” Without relationships, there is no trade.”

Students will also get a chance to immerse themselves within the lifestyle and mix business and pleasure. The 15-day journey will lead them to the Great Wall, ancient shrines and modern-day marvels within the cities they visit.

“Shanghai literally does not go to sleep,” Schackman says.

The trip is open to any UW-P student in good academic standing. Applications can be picked up on the fourth floor of Gardner Hall.