Learning for students at the Naveen Jindal School of Management is not always contained within the four walls of a classroom.
Sometimes, JSOM students’ experience is not even restricted to the U.S. border. Led by Dr. Habte Woldu, a clinical professor in the Jindal School’s Organizations, Strategy and International Management Area, and accompanied by Hubert Zydorek, director of the Jindal School’s BS in Global Business program, 15 students traveled to the Republic of Rwanda for an immersion into the country’s business practices.
“You think you know so much, but you go outside the country, and you learn that you don’t,” said Chris Cammarata, an accounting senior and enthusiastic participant in the program. “You go to another country, and you learn more.”
The 26 hours of travel for a weeklong trip expanded the students’ worldviews, offering the students an experience not found in Dallas, in Texas nor the United States.
“Here in the U.S., we have an Americanized view of the world,” said DaMarco Ellis, a business administration senior. He easily admits he was both excited and nervous for the trip, which broadened his perspective. “Going to Rwanda healed me because I received an appreciation for people who have less than what I had, and they are prospering. I saw how much I took for granted and how happy these people are who did not have much.”
The experience was the culmination of the Regional Management Area Studies: Africa (IMS 3v94), a semester long JSOM course that introduces students to the historical, social, economic, and political contexts of African nations. Participants explore the business landscape of the region and engage in seminars focused on companies that operate within and impact the local economy. It is broken into three portions — pre-trip preparation, the seminar abroad and post-trip reporting.
For one week in November, the students traveled to Kigali, the nation’s capital and largest city, to study business practices and to evaluate both opportunities and challenges. Additionally, their task was to analyze Rwanda’s role in the global economy and compare that country’s business operations to those of the U.S.
Woldu, director of the Sustainable Global Business Initiative (SGBI) and a veteran of numerous travel-abroad educational trips since 1995, ranks this expedition as one of the best. The UTD group was hosted by Rwanda board of development, led by Rosine Urujeni, its chief operations officer. Their experiences included touring the American embassy, speaking with Rwandan university representatives, visiting neighborhood women’s centers and even checking out the local soccer fields.
“This was a well-prepared trip,” Woldu said. “This would be one of the top countries from an impact standpoint. It was great. Once we reached the country, we found the program very interesting.”
One of the main goals of the seminar, according to Woldu, was to understand how business is conducted in another country. The Jindal School prepares its students to succeed in the world, not just the U.S.
“The best way for us to learn is, in fact, to go into the companies and institutions to learn how things are done,” he said. “They need to be exposed to this earlier, while they’re young, so they can adapt to the business environments in the African context.”
His students, who were exposed to Rwanda’s business, government, history, culture, higher education system and people, enthusiastically agreed with their professor.
“It really opened my eyes to a new way of economy and doing business,” said Srinidhi Yelamanchili, a Canadian native and business analytics junior. “I learned a lot about how marketing, strategy and business analysis can be conducted in a global environment.”
Rwanda, located south of the equator in central Africa, is a country known for its beautiful scenery and even has been nicknamed “the country of a thousand hills.” The UTD visitors were struck by not only the beauty of the country, but also how the country has progressed since the 1994 genocide campaign. That tragic chapter in Rwanda’s history resulted in more than 800,000 deaths, which has required a reconstruction in many ways. The country, Woldu said, is rebuilding with peace and reconciliation.
“Though no nation should go through the painful process of genocide, as it is tragically against humanity, many nations, that are passing through such tragedy can move quicker to a healing stage by learning from the Rwandan effective peace and reconciliation process that is taking place,” Woldu said.
“How their country is coming back is a true sign of resilience,” Yelamanchili added.
Cammarata considers that resilience one of the best things he learned during his stay there.
“No matter the adversity you face in life, you can always bounce back and make something great out of it,” he said. “Life is tough, and you are always going to be down sometimes. You can build back. It shows character.”
The Jindal School students noticed the cultural changes throughout the African country. Empowering women to lead, especially after so many men were killed during the 1990s, has become a leading Rwandan policy. More women than men are now in government, Woldu said, and the fact made an impression on the students.
“Perhaps, empowering women in such robust way could be the factor behind the effectiveness of peace and reconciliation, which is unique in the world,” Woldu said.
Yelamanchili, who turned 20 years old while on the trip, said it was eye-opening to see how much the government of Rwanda is empowering women and helping them.
“It was very nice to see them encouraging women to go out and grow themselves and make a living because so many countries don’t,” she said.
The students also noticed a true sense of community in the country. For Cammarata, who had long wanted to travel to Africa, the Rwanda people’s welcoming, friendly spirit was a delight.
“We were treated like family everywhere we went,” he said. “It was nice and refreshing to see everyone got along.”
Such soft skills the students saw as transferable to the business world. Ellis learned that collaboration and communication are necessary in business, especially the world of an entrepreneur.
“Your dream is actually a shared experience,” he said. “In a lot of business, it’s a cooperation, and that was my experience in Rwanda.”
The educationally enriching trip to Rwanda was supported by the SGBI, which was established by the Ann and Jack Graves Charitable Foundation. The latter awarded each student an $1,800 stipend for travel expenses. Since 2019, the foundation has supported financially students and faculty traveling to African countries for various projects. Selected students participate in a variety of educational and cultural activities for unique learning experiences leading them to become better prepared for the business world. The trip was also partially supported by the Office of the International Education (OIE) at The University of Texas at Dallas. The students received scholarships ranging from $500 to $1,000.
“Needless to say that the trip wouldn’t have taken place without the generous resources that were available from the above two entities dedicated to internationalizing the UTD educational system,” Woldu said.
Ellis, already a working professional even as he completes his degree, had always admired people who studied abroad, never dreaming he would one day be one of those lucky students.
“I want to express my appreciation to the foundation for this opportunity,” he said. “Without their generosity, I would not have been able to go. There are people who will facilitate dreams. It definitely changed me.”
The students selected for the trip were culled from outstanding juniors and seniors who are “very ambitious, high GPA students,” Dr. Woldu said. The students, who all received academic credit for the course, exceeded the professor’s expectations.
“I had difficulties giving them any grades that were imperfect,” he said with a chuckle.
