Twelve days to experience all that is Shanghai, Beijing, and Seoul. Transcontinental flights, a speed train from Shanghai to Beijing, a handful of business meetings and a collection of in-country assignments were all part of the plan for 36 Kellogg students when we departed from Chicago the morning of March 16.
The trip to China and South Korea was a central component of our Global Initiatives in Management (GIM) class, and for most of us, it was our first trip to Asia. The trip itself was sandwiched between two segments of five classes in which Professor Damien Ma, Sheila Duran, executive director of Kellogg’s Public/Private Initiative, and a series of distinguished speakers equipped us with the necessary knowledge to make the most of our trip.
What we did not anticipate were the unique interactions each of us would have throughout the nearly two weeks abroad, not only with the people living in the countries themselves, but also within our group of Kellogg students.