During these unprecedented times, it is more important than ever that we nurture a sense of unity and optimism within both our local and global communities.
Mehmet Tosun, director of international business programs, has been working closely with the College’s international university partners throughout the pandemic, facilitating thoughtful conversations about how to best implement new program activities going forward.
“We have been brainstorming about future activities with our international partners in online meetings,” Tosun said. “These are difficult times, but we need to continue with our internationalization efforts as much as we can.”
On May 5, a joint class discussion took place via Zoom between University students in Tosun’s public finance class and students from the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia. Participants compared government policies in the U.S. to those in Europe, with respect to the differing COVID-19 pandemic responses. Tosun plans to continue to host joint webinars in the near future.
In an effort to spread optimism and hope, the College and its 10 international partner universities collaborated in mid-May to create a photo grid, showing solidarity with students during this difficult time.
Each university representative created a sign depicting one word or phrase, contributing to the overarching message of the grid: “Dear students, we may be miles apart, but together we can overcome anything.”
In order to provide further resources and insight regarding international business to those interested, the College and SGH Warsaw School of Economics created a new International Business Blog, which will feature content covering broadly defined business and economics topics.
The blog will begin by publishing posts from the College and SGH Warsaw School of Economics. The platform will later expand to include pieces written by other international university partners.
In adapting to the ever-changing landscape of society, shaped by the coronavirus, the College continues to advance its international business program offerings in accordance with the safety restrictions in place.
Despite not being able to resume normal program activities, much has been done over the past three months, thanks to the help of modern technology and the bonds between the College and its global partners.
“It looks like you can still do a lot in the digital environment,” Tosun said.
