In an attempt to establish a greater international presence, the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University will be expanding its network to five major countries by August 2009.
Through a new program, Fuqua students will be able to study at campuses in Shanghai, Dubai, St. Petersburg, London and New Delhi.
“We chose regions that are economic and cultural hubs of the areas that they’re in — players in the places that matter most to world business,” Duke Public Relations Specialist Chris Privett said.
As opposed to seeking a traditional study abroad partnership with other universities overseas, Duke’s new program seeks a more permanent international presence, Privett explained.
The campuses “will actually be Duke locations in these other regions,” Privett said, adding that the general idea is to have students really experience the culture and social aspects of these various regions, rather than just be guests there.
As of now, the Fuqua School of Business is only planning to provide one program at the new campuses. The program will consist of six terms over the span of 16 months, during which students will travel to each of the campuses, Privett explained.
“Orientation takes place in London and then the students travel as two separate cohorts in Russia, India, China, and Dubai,” Privett said. The program will feature a mixture of faculty members from Duke’s main campus in North Carolina as well as faculty from the various international locations.
Not all building locations have been selected; however, Privett said, “we are going through the process of acquiring a plot of land but until you finish actual construction, some of the programs will start using existing space in the various regions until the actual physical construction part of this is complete.”
According to Privett, Blair Sheppard, dean of the Fuqua School of Business, was a large reason why Duke decided to take on such a large project.
“Blair Sheppard came in as dean over a year ago, and he looked at our mission statement and said that we needed to do a little more on the worldwide part of our mission,” Privett said, adding that the dean has been highly involved in developing the program.
“The timing is right ... because of where the world has moved and where international commerce has moved,” Privett said.
According to Marina Markot, associate director for study abroad with the University of Virginia International Studies Office, international commerce has also caught the eye of the University.
The Darden School has its own global initiative, Markot said, through which each of its MBA students spends a few weeks overseas examining the economic and business structures of various countries.
“The School of Commerce is also saying that 100 percent of commerce graduates will have some type of international experience” before graduation, Markot said.
Aside from various study abroad programs, the University is also a part of the Universitas 21 Consortium, “an international consortium of leading research institutions” that seeks collaboration among 21 different universities worldwide, Markot said. She added that the University is the only U.S. institution that is part of this international group.
The University also offers opportunities for Nursing School students to do their clinical research in South Africa.
“Although it might not be as glamorous, we are trying to build these multi-layered sustainable partnerships with certain areas in the world where we can contribute productively but we can also learn from them as well,” Markot said, adding that the door for international engagement is always wide open.
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