International Staff Week in France

I started the month of July 2022 by traveling to Antibes, France, a town near Sophia Antipolis where the southern campus of SKEMA Business School is located. I spent the week networking with university partners all over the world and discovering all that SKEMA does behind the scenes to promote the theme of “glocalisation” across its campuses, including the SKEMA Raleigh campus.

Tuesday, July 5

Day one kicked off with more than 25 campus partners in attendance for several presentations, including “Glocalisation in Higher Education.” A major goal for students is that they become knowledgeable global citizens while making an impact on their local communities. SKEMA Raleigh students are encouraged to give back to the community as they study in the U.S. by assessing how they can use their coursework to address local needs. 

Wednesday-Thursday, July 6-7

The next few days of the conference included several presentations and workshops along with a tour of the Sophia Antipolis campus and Technology Park. A special highlight included a presentation by Dr. Philippe Chereau regarding SKEMA Ventures, which offers students the opportunity to be trained in entrepreneurship and acquire a global vision by making use of the best opportunities at its campuses worldwide. Students studying in Raleigh can make use of the Entrepreneurship Garage on campus and Raleigh Founded (formerly known as HQ Raleigh) located downtown.

Friday, July 8

The final day of the International Staff week was dedicated to French language and culture practice. A key aspect of “glocalisation” is preparing students to be world citizens. Cultural understanding can play a critical role in student success, and this opportunity allowed international staff to better understand the cultural background of many SKEMA students. It was also a great opportunity to discuss how best to support students experiencing new cultures as they study at the SKEMA campuses around the world. In Raleigh at NC State, we work with students to better understand American Culture through the U.S. Culture and Business course that all students take during their first semester. 

In the end, it was a wonderful week filled with opportunities to build partnerships and discuss new ways to support SKEMA students as they study in the U.S. and become members of the NC State campus and community.