News > 2008 > Sixteen Students in Mexico: Follow Their Adventures on a Blog

Sixteen Students in Mexico: Follow Their Adventures on a Blog

First Campus Abroad for BBA Students

May 30, 2008

An enthusiastic group of 16 Bachelor's in Business Administration (BBA) students flew off to Mexico on May 31, for a three-week stay as part of the very first BBA Campus Abroad course. They will be attending classes at the Tecnológico de Monterrey, including a significant cultural component, touring a dozen companies and creating a group blog, all in Spanish – with the exception of the blog, which will be in French. You can follow their Mexican adventures on their blog at http://experience.hec.ca/campus_internationaux/.

Luis Felipe Cisneros Martinez en compagnie des étudiants participant au premier campus international au B.A.A.

Professor Luis Felipe Cisneros Martinez, along with the students attending the first BBA Campus Abroad.

The students will be staying in Monterrey, a key industrial centre in the north of the country, and in Mexico City, the capital, at the heart of a central region with a concentration of major investment in the manufacturing and service industries. They will have a chance to learn about management, Mexican style, and to study the country’s industrial economy and international trade. Topics will include cultural considerations and business protocol, management and decision making, management of family firms, the impact of NAFTA on Mexico, and the formal and informal economies.

They will have to keep a daily log, and make entries in the blog every fifth day. Professor Luis Felipe Cisneros Martinez, who is accompanying the students, finds the blog a very interesting idea. “In addition to working as a team, writing the blog will have them conduct research and analyze data, meet local business figures and write articles. This will force them to use their critical judgment and draw connections between theory and practice. As well, they may get feedback from other students and readers, which may get them thinking about what they have written. Who knows?”

This Campus Abroad program, designed by Martin Coiteux, a Professor in the Department of International Business, and Luis Cisneros, is intended to encourage contact among BBA students and local people in the host country, including representatives of the business community and Tecnológico de Monterrey students, who will join the HEC Montréal students for some classes.

The International Projects team also played an important role in organizing the logistics of the Campus Abroad trip – in particular Project Manager Annie Kouamé, who is accompanying the students to Mexico.