During the summer of 2017, Stevenson University’s Management 440 course will be traveling to Dublin, Ireland, and Lisbon, Portugal for 16 days. Romas Laskauskas, assistant professor of business, and Sidas Saulynas, assistant professor of information systems, will lead the travel portion and teach the class. Laskauskas said, “This will be eye-opening for American students.”
Students will examine challenges within international cultures and organizations to gain insight on leadership through cultural experiences. Laskauskas said that the group will spend eight days in Ireland, and the students will experience a little culture shock there. He added there is no major language barrier, so communication will be easy upon arrival.
The group then will transition into Lisbon, Portugal. Laskauskas said Lisbon is one of the most beautiful capitals in Europe, Portugal’s coastal capital city. Within the 16 days, the students will visit international businesses, tour cultural centers and submerge themselves into the new cultures. The will visit the City of Dublin Education and Training Board, the Irish Bank, EDP (Portugal’s national electric company) and Delta Cafes.
Laskauskas said that leadership skills are desirable for every student and that they should be ready to get out of their comfort zone. They will learn that they can not only grow and survive in a new environment, but they can thrive as well, he explained.
In his 12 years at Stevenson University, Laskauskas has participated in six faculty-led trips, adding that each trip has very successful outcomes and each year the experience gets better. His Leadership and Service Learning course is open to all majors. It is an upper-level course for juniors and seniors, and occasionally sophomores are accepted.
Laskauskas encouraged students to study abroad and gain experience outside of their comfort zone while they are still young because, he explained, it can be an exceptional learning experience.
The International and Off-Campus Study program has also announced upcoming travel courses for Winterim and spring break 2018. All travel courses are three credits and students interested must have a minimum 2.5 GPA to participate.
In Winterim 2018, students will have the opportunity to travel to Ecuador, Texas, Louisiana and Arizona. In spring 2018, students will have travel opportunities to Austin, Texas, and London, England. Applications open for all winter and spring courses on August 1. For more information, schedule an appointment with an International and Off-Campus Study representative at [email protected].
