Studying in an advanced economy can be one of the most rewarding and beneficial experiences for college students. Therefore, studying abroad comes as a great learning experience for students from developing or under-developed countries. Additionally, if you study a business diploma abroad, it is considered to be even more beneficial. This is because earning a business diploma provides you with the knowledge and skills to setup and run your own businesses. Some of these skills include strategic planning, problem-solving abilities, leadership, self-motivation, and creativity. There are several other reasons why students from developing countries should study overseas in the field of business. Take a look at some of these reasons:
- Experience a new culture: This is one of the main reasons why students wish to study abroad. Living in a new country opens their eyes to different cultures. New cultures include food, customs, traditions, and social atmosphere. Dee Roach, group manager and European marketer for the Navitas Education Group, echoes this sentiment, “The best way of finding out about another culture is by immersing yourself in it, and you can only do that by living in a country. Once you are working, your holiday or experiences overseas might be limited to only two to four weeks per year so studying abroad is a great opportunity to remain in a country and learn all about it over a longer period of time.”
- Making new friends from around the world: If you opt for international studies abroad you’ll get an excellent opportunity to make friends from across the world. Meeting new people who have different backgrounds and cultures can be an enriching experience. If not making friends, then you can at least build contacts that can help you in your professional lives in the future.
- Improve and develop language skills: Studying abroad provides you with an opportunity to improve your English and learn the local language. This is because most of the graduate and postgraduate courses are taught in English, and speaking excellent English also help you in your future career prospects. According to Sarah Han, Department of International Cooperation at the Korean Council for University Education, “Language skills obtained while studying abroad will always be beneficial to the student and their home country in both the short-term and long-term”.
- Personal growth and development: Studying abroad helps you learn things about yourself. Living in a different culture can be overwhelming at times, but it tests your attitude, making you mentally stronger and mature. Also, living and studying alone can help you become independent. According to a survey conducted by ImpelOverseas.com regarding students studying abroad, a whopping 96% said that it increased their self-confidence, 97% said that it made them mature, 75% said that it helped them acquire skills that shaped their future careers, and 86% said that it influenced their subsequent educational experiences. According to Carolyn Valtos (she studied abroad it 1992), “Overall, I learned a lot more about myself in that one semester than I did in the three and a half years in my home school because of the unique space in which I learned, experienced, and spent exploring another culture.”
- Study in a global hub: Studying in a global hub like Toronto in Canada, provides you with a global mindset and perspective. This makes you smarter and it provides you with working abroad opportunities.
- Excellent job opportunities: Earning a business diploma abroad can help you with excellent opportunities to find business administration jobs. The skills and knowledge you gain while studying business administration abroad helps you grow in your future professional lives. According to Dee Roach, “Anyone who is able to put on their CV that they studied abroad is at a great advantage in terms of impressing future employers. At a very basic level it will give you something to talk about in an interview. But much more importantly it will prove to your potential employer that you have the ability to stand on your own two feet, that you can fit in when placed in different environments, and that you are resourceful and have initiative. Earning a business administration diploma has another benefit in the form of earning a high salary package. The average annual business administration salary in Canada varies as per your candidature and experience.
- Find new interests: Studying and living in a new country can help you discover new interests. You might discover a talent for something that does not exist in your home country. For example, in Canada students can take up a number of exciting activities such as rock-climbing, trekking, hiking, skiing, and ice hockey.
- Change in thought-process: Studying abroad can expand your world-view and improve your thought-process. Sharing experiences with people from different cultures and backgrounds makes one open-minded, tolerant, and appreciate diversity.
- Travel the world: Studying abroad also opens up avenues to travel the world. Not only do you get to travel the country you are based in, but you might visit the neighbouring countries too. All this travelling can be done over weekends or annual vacations. Travelling also gets cheaper with students discounts. Moreover, you learn the skills to navigate through a new city, interact with locals, find the best local food, or understand how to use the public transport.
- Intercultural development: According to most educators and teachers, one of the primary goals of studying abroad is to make future global leaders respectful of other cultures, open-minded, tolerant, and compassionate towards world welfare, and not just the welfare of their own country.
- Experience a different style of education and teaching: Studying abroad introduces you to new styles of teaching and education. This is because more often than not, students are used to a different teaching style in their home country. For example, in Canada, the teaching style is interactive and promotes active learning. This is usually done in the form of class discussions and participation, case-studies, live projects, exchange of ideas, and real-life practical experiences. In this teaching style, the faculty provides immediate feedback to students, and encourages them to work hard, which helps the students to perform well in their exams.
- Studying abroad being expensive is a myth: Study overseas is not as expensive as people think it is. For example, if a person goes from Europe to study in Canada, the expenses almost remain the same. Additionally, multiple organisations, firms, institutes, and universities offer study abroad scholarships to students.
If you are interested in studying business administration abroad, you should check out the Diploma In Business Administration Co-Op offered by The Toronto School of Management (TSoM).
This article was written by Varun Mehta and edited by Alessandra Maffei.
