ASU's College of Business Administration's European Tour Hosted by  Big-Four Accounting & Finance Firm "Deloitte"

 

- ​ASU contingency learned more about international finance and global outreach.

By Kenneth Mullinax/ASU

Representatives of Alabama State University's Dr. Percy J. Vaughn, Jr. College of Business Administration (COBA) recently undertook an in-depth business practices and study tour in the European Union (EU), courtesy of Deloitte, a global big-four accounting and finance firm. The group’s experience had a specific emphasis on Berlin, Germany; Brussels, Belgium; and Maastricht, Netherlands.  

 

COBA's Dean Hingorani, students, faculty and staff in Europe in their ASU black and gold attire (contributed). 

The dean of COBA, Dr. Kamal Hingorani, explained that a delegation of Alabama State University graduate and undergraduate students, faculty, and staff gained valuable insight into Europe's complex finance, business practices and history during the study tour. The group, which also included a faculty member from Lawson State Community College, visited the European Parliament and European Union buildings, where they learned about international affairs and diplomacy, and toured a number of places of cultural and historical significance in the three countries.

"This was a most educational experience and learning tour for both our students and for our faculty and staff – thanks to the generosity of Deloitte – which allowed all to see and discuss in-person, the many items that had been studied in the classroom at Alabama State University," stated Dean Hingorani. "One interesting point to me is seeing first-hand that Europe as a whole has more stringent environmental standards in many instances than what we have here in the United States, depending on the industry."  

LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE EU

COBA's Dean shared that the members of the tour delegation learned about many diverse business practices that before they had only studied in textbooks, including the European Union’s rotating leadership process. They also visited the European Parliament where they were able to see Europe's equivalent of the United States Congress. At Maastricht University, the delegation was given a comprehensive tour of the campus facilities, and they learned about the University’s global graduate programs, further enriching the ASU delegation's understanding of international business and education. 

"It was a great opportunity to learn about European business and finance and how the governments of Europe meet and work out laws that affect all of its 27 EU national members. We also took a day trip by train to Maastricht in the Netherlands, which is an important business and finance hub for the European Union," Hingorani said. "Executives with Deloitte gave us a personalized presentation that highlighted the company's commitment to social responsibility and sustainability, which was most impressive and educationally informative."  

IN-PERSON EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES ARE IMPORTANT

Hingorani explained that the study tour focused on experiential learning that allows students to observe the progress made by the EU in a number of ways, including the improvement of environmental standards, which is of special interest to businesses in the United States.

"It is good and necessary that our students are exposed to the culture, history, and business practices in different parts of the world firsthand through experiential learning (seeing it in-person). To achieve our objective of focused, in-person learning, we have implemented this competitive study tour to the EU," said Hingorani. "Exposing our diverse cadre of students to traveling abroad, obtaining a worldly view that many of them had only previously dreamed of seeing, has created an important and positive ASU educational moment, including the many good memories that they may share with fellow students, family and friends,” Hingorani added.

News media contact: Kenneth Mullinax, 334-229-4104.

 

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