For many college students, connecting their interests to careers and life goals can be a challenge. Transfer students may find this particularly difficult because they are unfamiliar with campus resources that can help them make these connections. A course at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management aims to help these students chart their own paths, in part by sending them on international trips.
The Designing Your Life in a Global Context course encourages transfer students to apply design thinking principles to their college careers and beyond, with short-term faculty-led study abroad trips. Primarily paid for by the school, this experience breaks down barriers to student participation and is designed to enhance their sense of belonging to the university.
background: Beginning in 2022, all students in the Carlson School of Management’s undergraduate program will be required to complete an international experience. The goal is to inspire them to become globally competitive, support their development as business leaders and build collaborations with international colleagues, according to the school’s website.
The study abroad experience is closely related to personal and professional development. A recent survey of study abroad alumni by the Overseas Education Forum found that 42% of respondents said studying in another country helped them land their first job.
For U-M Business students, these experiences are made possible through a grant from the Carlson Family Foundation, which provides scholarships through the Carlson Global Institute and the Center for Study Abroad.
In addition to Designing Your Life in a Global Context, the university also offers the Designing Your Career in a Global Context course, which gives students a similar short-term study abroad experience.
frame: Designing Your Life in a Global Context runs weekly throughout the fall semester and culminates with a 10-day trip to Japan, a country chosen to lecture by Lisa Novak because of its unique focus on work-life balance and happiness.
“If you are familiar with the following concepts life shell“It’s all about finding one’s purpose and combining that with what you love, what the world needs, what you’re good at and what you can get paid for,” said Nowak, Carlson’s dean of student engagement and development. “We’re going to learn that concept abroad.”
Because transfer students, like first-year students, may face challenges adjusting to a new campus and interacting with their peers, the course is designed in part to provide them with resources and instill a sense of belonging within their group.
Additionally, the course is modeled on Stanford University’s Design Thinking Framework, helping students apply life design principles throughout their lives.
“Through the curriculum, we provide students with the tools and strategies to design their college and career experiences to align with their values, interests, strengths, needs and goals,” Novak said.
Going abroad: During the 10-day trip, students explore Tokyo and Okinawa.
They visited Gallup’s Tokyo offices to learn about the CliftonStrengths assessment and the research the organization conducts in Japan. In Okinawa, students learn from residents who live in the “Blue Zones,” areas of the world where people live the longest and have the fewest health complications.
“We learned about some of the factors that contribute to longevity in this part of the world and then connected that to designing one’s life and living a life of purpose,” Novak said.
In addition to the classroom content, this trip provides students with the opportunity to engage in cross-cultural learning and experience international travel that may be unfamiliar to them.
Before traveling to Japan, Nowak and colleagues at the Carlson Institute of Global Studies provided students with support on travel logistics, including obtaining passports, creating packing lists and handling currency exchanges.
“I also brought different foods from the area,” Novak said. “We call it ‘Taste of Japan.’ I have different candies or snacks from Japan, and that’s a way for them to experience a little bit of the culture and get excited about what we’re doing.”
Nowak also guides students in reflection before, during and after the trip to help them understand their trip and how the experience shaped their worldview.
“I just want them to realize that the world and business are increasingly global and interconnected,” Novak said. “Being able to navigate differences, make connections and have conversations with people who are very different from yourself is a powerful learning experience.”
