MBA Finance students from Sacred Heart University’s Luxembourg campus took a two-week trip this past summer to learn about the economic climate throughout the Middle East and Asia. Posing for a photo at the Bank of China in Beijing were, from left, Henry Saavedra, Antoine Peter, Ingo Willems, Frederic Scholtus (hidden), Aydin Najafzadeh, Professor Alfred Steinherr, Simone Schirra, Irina Penzina, Luis Carrerra, Rachel Niebling, Sukhwinder Kleir, Chris Müller, Emeline Perrenot, Monique Oswald, Marcus Oswald and Don Molner.
FAIRFIELD, CT - There’s textbook learning and then there’s the opportunity to immerse yourself in the subject matter. The latter is what 18 students enrolled in the MBA Finance program at Sacred Heart University’s Luxembourg campus experienced this past summer when they took a whirlwind tour of the Middle East and Asia for an economic temperature reading.
Don Molner, an American who lives with his German wife and three young children in Trier, Germany, was one of the 18. “What was interesting about our group is that they were from four different continents, 11 different countries and many different career backgrounds,” Molner said.
Molner started MBA classes at SHU Luxembourg in fall 2010 with a goal of learning more about corporate finance. Every two years, that campus offers an overseas trip as an elective. “The Middle East and Asia are emerging economies,” he said. “When studying global finance, these are key areas.”
Led by Professor Alfred Steinherr, the two-week trip took place July 2-16. Upon reflection, Steinherr notes, "Over the years I have become increasingly convinced that there is a multiplicative gain from adding concrete experience to classroom teaching. When we were in Mumbai, we visited some of the largest and fastest-growing companies of India, such as Reliance Industries and Tata Consultancy. We exchanged views with Indian managers whose articulation, quickness of mind and extent of responsibility challenged our imagination. For the future international manager, this short experience of two weeks has widened our horizons and challenged our minds."
The first four days were spent in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. “They have a big problem in the housing industry there. The financial crisis of 2008 left a lot of vacant real estate inventory,” Molner said. “There’s also a big discussion about what to do after oil.”
In Dubai, the group visited DP World, the largest global marine terminal operator, with facilities that are 15km long, and the Dubai Chamber, which is trying to expand its financial services and attract clients from Abu Dhabi, the source of the majority of U.A.E.’s GDP. They also visited the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, and the Mall of the Emirates, which is the world’s largest mall with a ski slope and the Burj Al Arab Hotel. “The Burj Al Arab is supposedly the world’s only 7-star hotel,” Molner said. “When they build something here, it’s going to be the biggest and best. It’s not about money, but country pride. They’ve always lived in the shadow of Saudi Arabia.”
In Abu Dhabi, the capital of the U.A.E., the class toured the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. “It accommodates 40,000 people,” said Molner. “We had to take off our shoes, and the women had to cover up.”
Molner remarked that 90% of people in the U.A.E. are expatriates, and the other 10% are natives who are given a free house, free utilities and a monthly stipend. The endowments have created problems in that, not surprisingly, the young don’t want to work. “Twenty-three percent of the young are unemployed; 34% haven’t completed high school,” Molner said.
A four-day stay in Beijing brought more insights, with tours of the Bank of China, where the group got a briefing on banking policy, and the U.S. and Luxembourg Embassies. “A major portion of the discussion was about protection of intellectual property,” Molner said. “When a company wants to start production in China, they have to provide in-depth details about their operations and products. By the time the approval comes in, a Chinese company is often already making your product – they’ve stolen the idea. They believe everyone should have free access to intellectual property.”
The next stop was Bangkok, Thailand, with visits to the Asian Development Bank, focused on regional enhancement, and Chulalongkorn University, where international business professors explained how the country weathered the financial storm.
The final leg of the journey was Mumbai, India. The most impactful takeaways there were the “grotesque” poverty, extreme pollution and a service called Childline, which functions as a 24/7 emergency helpline for children in need of care or protection. Children there are in great jeopardy: “Six to seven million kids are sexually abused; 72 million ages 5 to 14 have no basic access to education,” Molner said.
“The entities we visited provided just a small snapshot of the current happening within each country. The trip cemented the learning experience,” he concluded.
