Academic Information

Purpose:

The purpose of this course is to provide students with an opportunity to gain exposure to and learn about the economic environment, business culture and social practices of international destinations in an experiential manner. The learning focus will be on understanding the political and economic model as well as the business culture and practices of the country/countries of study.

Eligibility:

Open to all continuing Bachelor of Commerce students, full-time or part-time in any year of their business degree. Registration is open on Bear Tracks.

Course Description:

BUEC 444 is devoted to experiential learning through an international study tour. The aim of this course is to expose students to cross-cultural aspects of the international business environment and the challenges it poses. The course content is comprised of an academic component and a study tour component. The learning objective is to familiarize students with the basic principles of cross cultural business practices in an international setting. The destination for the study tour may vary from year to year.

For the Winter 2023 term, there will be no travel involved and the course will focus on multiple countries. This "virtual" study tour will include China, Brazil, the US and France. In addition to cross cultural management and communications, students will learn the current economic and business conditions and their business practices unique to these countries through in-country speakers.

Students will be required to examine a topic of personal interest relevant to the course subject through a research paper.

Please review the tentative BUEC 444 (Virtual Study Tour) Syllabus for more information.

Course Content:

1. Lectures from course instructor at the University of Alberta
2. Research paper at the end of semester
3. Lectures and sessions from guest speakers abroad
4. Presentations from partner organizations in China, Brazil, the US and/or France
5. Group discussions and participation in all course sessions

Class Format:

Although the course is called a "Virtual Study Tour," the class itself is not a virtual or online course. BUEC 444 will be held in-person with the instructor and other students in the classroom at the University of Alberta. In addition to regular lectures and classroom sessions, there will also be sessions with international speakers who join the class via videoconferencing. All sessions/components (other than assignments, readings and the research project) will take place during scheduled class time. The "virtual" label is meant to convey that instead of the class travelling to other parts of the world, we'd try to bring other parts of the world to the classroom.

Course Weight:

3 credits

Instructor:

Edy Wong, PhD

Course Schedule:

Lectures and presentation sessions for this course (BUEC 444) will be held at the Alberta School of Business during the Winter 2023 academic term (January - April). The schedule for this course can be found below. All sessions will take place is BUS 3-06.