Gabelli School of Business London Summer Program 2011

The American business world today is experiencing constant transformation due to the growing influence of the business cultures of foreign countries. The Gabelli School of Business Summer Study Abroad Program allowed me to learn about the cultures that are expanding their influence in the international business world in a foreign setting. I spent six weeks of the summer of 2011, the summer between my junior and senior years, taking marketing courses at Fordham’s London Centre Campus. These courses explained how certain countries are beginning to field companies into the international gamut of product markets, and how the principles of different cultures of these countries affect how marketing and other business practices are conducted. The program coordinates housing and visits to companies such as KPMG. Since Heythrop College, the institution where Fordham London Centre is located, is located across central London from where student housing is, students are required to take the Tube, the London underground transportation system, each day to class. This enabled me to immerse myself in the everyday life of a London resident, and invoked in me the desire to explore the city. The Gabelli London Program provided students excellent opportunities to engage in English culture. I had the privilege of seeing a production of Christopher Marlowe’s play “Doctor Faustus” at the newly restored Globe theatre, as well as a modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s hometown. The program also offers the liberal arts elective course in English theater, so any business student looking to fill a liberal arts requirement will find the London program an excellent opportunity to do so. Participating in this program will allow Gabelli students to interact and develop friendships with Fordham classmates who they may not have had the ability to meet while taking classes at Fordham. My program friends and I were able to enjoy together an unforgettable electronic music concert at Ministry of Sound, one of the world’s premier nightclubs. Of course, as in any typical study abroad program, students have ample time to explore the notable tourist attractions of their city as well as to travel to different countries on weekends. I would recommend this program to any Gabelli School of Business student who wishes to enhance his or her business education with exposure to international business culture in a foreign setting while looking to have an unforgettably fun experience in the process.