Business schools such as the Stern School of Business and the MIT Sloan School of Management offer in-depth programs in international business in China, Japan, and other Asian countries. However, generalist programs at NYU CAS as well as at other institutions have yet to adopt similar programs that yield to more wide-ranging results. Such programs are more than just great for individual education – they enhance the United States’ soft power – its prestige in being the world’s most innovative country. Other, more generalist programs for study abroad, which tout advantages such as “enhanced cultural understanding and appreciation” – a very important and worthwhile goal—typically do not yield as promising results.
At its loftiest, most idealistic level, study abroad should offer opportunities akin to what Justice Louis Brandeis termed “laboratories for democracy.” While his argument was about states’ rights to regulate economic activity, the basic spirit of it is applicable to study abroad – just as states can test novel ideas that may permeate through the federal system, study abroad can foster intellectual relationship that give way to international cooperation. Countries know this in terms of international relations – France and the United States regularly exchange foreign students as a diplomatic tool. It’s a lot harder to go to war against someone if your kids were educated at their universities. When it comes to admitting foreign students, American universities do a good job. When it comes to educating American students on study abroad, many students fail to develop long-lasting relationships in areas outside of business that could develop into, ideally, groundbreaking ideas. At a time in which America’s pioneering innovation is dipping – an MIT Sloan study shared that it is getting much harder to find new ideas in agriculture and medicine—it is crucial that out international education not only promote intercultural understanding—but real results as well.
NYU could take the lead on this. It could create more relationships with universities such as the Sorbonne to foster research between qualified students and professors. It could create stronger programs to connect students of similar fields while on study abroad and organize research plenums –much like the Research + program at NYU – which students could team up with local students to do. NYU could also promote American involvement in local clubs, such as Model UN, debate or management consulting, while also keeping its trips.
—Charles Moxley
