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The Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) and the College of Staten Island have been involved in cooperative efforts for over four years and the results have been better than expected. CSI business students looking for a study-abroad opportunity are beginning to choose Ireland as the “gateway” country to studying in Europe. DIT and CSI offer a full-semester program as well as a short-term summer program in Dublin.

CSI business students studying at DIT were able to receive the full range of educational opportunities available as well as witness the unique history that Dublin, one of Europe’s oldest cities, has to offer. Because of its unique location, Dublin is considered a gateway to mainland Europe. In addition, although the culture is different the common language makes it easier for English-speaking students to acclimate themselves to a new country.

CSI students attended lectures at DIT and also visited important literary sites such as the home of James Joyce, traveled to Belfast in Northern Ireland to see how the peace is working, and made company visits to firms like Intel and O-2. The Intel visit was especially significant since the company carefully guards its proprietary information and  does not often entertain guests. “We were exposed to the inner workings of a company we otherwise never would have been exposed to,” said Mary Beth Reilly, Assistant Vice President of Enrollment Management at CSI, who accompanied the students last summer program.

Recently returning CSI students all commented that they had a “once in a lifetime” experience and they stressed the importance of learning cultural diversity as business students.

“As a manager, you may have a wide employee base,” said Naushad Mohammed, who has a BS and MS from the College. “You find people from all walks of life and as a manager you have to understand every single one of these employees. Studying abroad gives future business managers the opportunity to not only experience another country’s culture and practices but to meet new people and broaden personal horizons.”

Aside from being a practical learning experience and a good way to strengthen a résumé, the experience elicited the same response from all of the students who have returned from studying at DIT. They echoed the sentiment shared by Jared Desposito, a 2009 graduate from CSI’s MS in Management program, “I learned so much about what I don’t know about the world.”

CSI offers full-semester programs to DIT as well a summer ten-day program worth three credits. There are scholarship and grant opportunities for all students planning on studying abroad.

Registration for this summer’s program will open on April 6. Students who are interested in applying need to visit Camille Lazar or Alan Zimmerman in the Business Department office.