Beginning this semester, a new award could make studying abroad much easier for students of the George Herbert Walker School of Business and Technology (SBT).
The Walker Travel Award, titled after its namesake George Herbert Walker, allocates up to $1,000 in travel expenses to qualified students participating in any of the 11 short-term hybrid business courses in the Walker Travel Program.
These hybrid courses combine six to seven weeks of online work with seven to ten days of travel. The courses can take students to countries such as China, Costa Rica, Turkey and Japan.
SBT gave the first award in early August to Marc-Antoine Chapoux, a student of Webster University-Leiden. Chapoux, who attended the hybrid course Professional Seminars/Issues in Management: EU /US Legal and Tax Systems, traveled to Spain, France, and Italy for the travel portion of his class.
Arthur De la Loza, the head of the business and management department in Leiden, said the award is especially beneficial to American students because it pays for them to go to countries that are normally out of reach. “Global mindset and experiences are what differentiates our students from others,” De la Loza said.
Adis Kapic, a business student at the Webster Groves campus, expressed interest in the award. Even though Kapic has already studied abroad in Leiden, he is looking to go overseas again. His first option was Thailand, but upon learning of the award, Kapic said he is reconsidering.
“I could save some money, of course,” Kapic said, “It could help out a lot more. [The program] would attract a lot more business students.”
Eligibility for the award is based on academic, social and financial standing with the university. Students must be at least at sophomore level and have completed at least four three-credit hour classes through SBT. Students must apply at least 8-12 weeks before the start of the course. The application is available online, and must be submitted to the Office of Study Abroad. A committee of SBT faculty and staff reviews each application.
Anne Browning, director of the Global MBA Program of SBT thinks the courses of the Walker Travel Program are perfect for many students unable to add “international” to their education because of work schedules or commitments at home. She described these (hybrid courses) as, “unique study opportunities geared toward giving our students that international edge in their education.”
Browning said SBT hopes to add more hybrid courses to the Walker Travel Program in the future.
“We live in a global world,” Browning said, “Pretty much anything a business student will do once they graduate will have some sort of global scope-from working with international markets to working with international colleagues. Gaining exposure to different cultures particularly in a business class is a great way to prepare for that future.”