Changing Lives in Tucson

"Studying Management Information Systems is a great pleasure and I really appreciate all the knowledge I learned in this summer program. I have gained not only pragmatic programming skills, but also learned about professional communication principles and U.S. business culture and expectations. With the help of this program, I learned to be an active, creative and innovative person, with good analytical capability, managerial skills and organizational capabilities." Min Ling

"The courses for this program are useful and can pave the way for our future job hunting. Our software design and web mining courses were of great value for a technical career, and our business communication course taught us how to improve our communication and how to behave ourselves properly in business world. Meanwhile, we are going to prepare for our Master's projects that we will complete in our home country. These projects are full of challenge and I am confident that we will improve even more through them." Bowen Da

"The courses are very intensive and equal to the regular (semester long) courses even though they have been condensed for the summer. The professors are very professional and knowledgeable. I have made some new friends here and this is what I like alot!" Xiqian Liu

"This is my first time to the united States and I am very excited to study at the UA. I have really learned a lot from Mona (Lopez, Master's Advisor), Cinda (Van Winkle, Graduate admissions coordinator), the professors and my classmates. From the courses, I am getting a clearer understanding about my career. I now know more about the importance and the relationship between what I have learnt and the real world. What can I do in the future by using what I have learned here? Indeed, this issue has troubled me for a very long time. Fortunately, this MIS program has helped me to figure out the issue." Yixuan Tan

"I like the small group and it is easy to interact with the professors." Jun-Woo Lee (not in the video)

The above comments are from the department's first ever international dual degree students who have been studying in Tucson since May 2011. They will be completing their studies at UA by the end of August at which time they will return to their home countries to virtually complete their Master's projects.

The MIS department began this program in response to the demand for skilled workers who have been asked to lead the booming Chinese financial services industry. "These workers will be called upon to tackle increasingly complex technical challenges, both strategic and operational, that are specific to the finance industry," explained Paulo Goes, MIS department head.

International dual degrees offer students unique experiences to develop both academic and cultural competence and, at the same time, provide them with an avenue to be more marketable in the international workplace. International degrees also provide academic instituions the potential to develop strategic partnerships and strong academic programs.

Upon successful completion of the program the students will earn two Master's degrees. One from the UA (Mater's in Business Information Systems) and one from their home country institution (either a Master's in Business Information Systems from City University, Hong Kong or a Techno MBA, IMBA, Information & Media MBA or Management Engineering MS from Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST.)

The students have learned many new things while they were here including not only new academic concepts and theory's but also culturally by forming new groups, experiencing a collaborative education environment, and learning about the American business and social culture.

The MIS faculty and staff are very proud to be a part of these students life-changing experience. We look forward to keeping in touch with them and hearing more about how the program has empowered them to pursue their dreams.

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