Why bother to study overseas?
Few would deny it’s a great experience — personally, academically, and professionally. You get to fully engage with a new culture, and you’ll likely make plenty of new friends.
But beyond that, is it worth it? Are there specific, valid reasons to make that commitment to a school on the other side of the world?
Absolutely.
Future Leaders for the New World
China has a critical need for responsible leaders with the mindset and skill sets to navigate the social and economic demands within a global context.
Educated young men and women from countries around the globe represent the doorway to this new emerging world, with less emphasis on national borders.
We should all aspire to be leaders — agents of change — to manage and affect it in a positive way.
The Global Mobility Skill Set
During the past 15-20 years, over 200 million people have left their homeland to live, study, and work in other countries. Studies have shown that language is only a part of mobility. The ability to integrate into the local community, to recognize and be sensitive to cultural differences, is necessary to develop and sustain this mobility.
Living abroad helps to enrich our total life experience. It also helps to increase self-awareness — a sense of who you are — which allows you to make better decisions in your personal and professional lives.
A side benefit of living abroad is the opportunity to share and spread knowledge of the Chinese people and culture, thereby enhancing China’s acceptance into the global community and business market.
Five Common Benefits of Studying Abroad:
While the benefits are many, these five frequently appear at or near the top of the list:
- Language and cultural immersion. Broader language skills when forced to communicate daily in a foreign language. Greater perspective on culture, as well as recognition and adaptation to different behaviours and attitudes.
- Increased ability for social interaction.
- Building a better resume. Demonstrated decision-making skills, the ability to network, and the experience and contacts that come along with professional internships.
- Adventure. Experiencing the world beyond our own borders. Jumping out of our comfort zone.
- Personal growth. Astute appreciation of international cultures. The ability to adapt.
Global companies tend to seek out graduates with these skills and experiences.
Warren Buffet’s Lessons on How to Achieve Success
American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist Warren Buffet has succeeded more often than he’s failed over his 90 years, and he’s a fantastic source of advice on success and life in general.
On Studying and Working Abroad
Do it. Predict what the future might look like. The world is changing constantly and you will see this more clearly when you are experiencing it in a foreign country. With that perspective, you’ll look into the future and not make decisions solely on how the world looks today.
On the Future of Business
Ask yourself: what will business look like 15-20 years from now?
Find ones that’ll look more or less the same except that they’ll be larger and doing more business internationally. Focus on the absence of change and analyze whether that has helped or hindered the company’s development. Look at the internet and figure out how an industry or company can be hurt or changed by it in a positive way.
The People Factor
Think of people you meet as investments, because hard work alone will not guarantee success. People and economics are factors in the global business world, so having a worldwide network of contacts in other countries will give you an advantage over those without that network.
A Buy and Sell Mentality
Look at your classmates and select one that you would ‘buy’ — having characteristics you like — and the one that you would ‘sell’ — does not appeal to you as a person.
Examine these attributes and you’ll soon realize that they are not given at birth but are developed in life. Write them down and follow them.
A Few More Tips
- Work with people you respect. If you don’t respect someone, you won’t be able to trust them. Without trust the relationship will be negative and will not contribute to either of your success.
- Learn from your mistakes. You will always make plenty of them, this is part of the game of life. Mistakes are unavoidable. Analyse your mistakes to determine what activities or behaviour of yours contributed to it and make changes.
- Do your research. Risk comes from not knowing what lies ahead and planning your behaviour accordingly. This is a significant trait missing in people who are unable to achieve success in anything they do because they’re always walking in the dark.
- Habits are hard to break. Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to break. Actively practice and develop habits that 10-15 years from now will benefit you and your career.
Can you implement most of these ideas without going overseas? Probably, but the return-on-investment will not be as high.
The global world is hungry for global minds. Take that first step and start developing yours.
