Business Students and Faculty are Participating in Study Tour to Japan
JONESBORO – A group of students and faculty from the Neil Griffin College of Business at Arkansas State University are in Japan as part of a grant-funded study tour that will enhance their understanding of international business in the post-pandemic world.
The U.S. Department of Education awarded a multi-year Business and International Education (BIE) grant to A-State for 2021–23. Dr. Gauri-Shankar Guha, professor of economics and finance, is project director.
“An explicit objective of the grant is to empower A-State’s constituents with global business leadership skills for the Japanese market,” Guha said. “Similarly, A-State also aspires to expand academic horizon eastwards to Japan. This grant allowed a happy merger of both objectives by planning and implementing a study tour.”
The study group will be exposed to Japanese history, culture and businesses. Most of the expenses of the study tour are borne by the BIE grant funds.
Students applied for grant funding by writing essays that highlighted the reason for their interest in Japanese marketing, technology and innovation models, and how they would incorporate that into their professional careers, Guha added.
Those on the trip are Meah Barbee of Memphis, a marketing major; Alyssa Pettit of Norfork, an accounting major; Nahida Islam of Bangladesh, a graduate student in engineering management; Jagriti of India, a graduate student in marketing; Ryan Harrison of Brookland, an information systems major; Matthew Phillips of Jonesboro, a business administration major; Paras Garg of India, a graduate student in global supply chain management; and Dan McDaniel of Paragould, an information systems major.
Faculty members Dr. Gail Hudson, professor of marketing, and Dr. Kelly Fish, professor of information systems, also are participating in the trip.
A-State students will benefit from their immersive experience in Japan. Faculty will gain important insights into the Japanese business environment, to make curricular changes and to provide guidance to students for inculcating international business leadership traits.
The A-State team will also visit with students and faculty of partner school Saitama University to learn more about the Japanese university’s living and learning systems.
Dr. Gauri-Shankar Guha (right) and the business tour group he is leading arrived in Tokyo.
