FEATURES

    Ue. Téng-koân. Shàng. Hinauf. Uverh. Wi-ro.  Whether it's said in Japanese, Taiwanese, Mandarin, German, Russian or Korean, it means “up,” and it's a word that's being heard a lot these days in the University at Albany's Office of International Education.  That's because, this academic year, enrollment of international students is up - to an unprecedented 889. 
    That figure is an increase of 108 (14 percent) from 1998 and 20 percent from the previous year. Of the 889 international program participants enrolled this year, 344 are first-time Albany students; in 1998-99, according to Director of International Education Steven A. Thomson, 310 foreign-born students enrolled for the first time at the University. 
    At Albany this year, international students represent 85 nations - the most ever - on six continents.  Graduate students number 627, while 190 are undergraduates; those figures are up 85 and 17 from last year's totals, respectively.  The remaining 8 percent of international students are enrolled in the Intensive English Language Program (IELP). 
    “As has been the case for many years,” explained Thomson, “Asia dominates other regions” in Albany's international program, with nearly two-thirds of the total enrollment.  Of the 534 Asian students, the largest number - 176 - are from China.  Another 108 hail from Korea, 71 are from India, while 68 are from Taiwan and 63 are from Japan.  Europe is the second-most-represented geographic area, with a total of 193 enrollees from 34 countries.  Thirty-three of those students are German; Cyprus and Russia each sent 23 students to Albany.  Eighteen others are from the United Kingdom.  The remaining 90 graduate and undergraduate students are from Iran, Lebanon, Israel, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, and a host of other nations in North, South, and Central America; the Caribbean; and the Middle East. 
    Among the 72 IELP students, 19 are Japanese, 15 are Korean, and 13 are Turkish. A number of IELP enrollees also traveled from Venezuela, Colombia, Italy, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and several other countries to attend Albany.
    Thomson noted that communication with his counterparts at other campuses around the country indicates that “increases in international enrollment are evident across the United States this year.”  He theorizes that the continued increase in enrollment of Korean students, for instance, may be attributed to a scarcity of jobs and limited graduate educational opportunities in their homeland - factors that lead students “to go on to master's and Ph.D. programs overseas.”
    The international education director believes that the increased enrollment bodes well for recruitment.  “Students who have good experiences at Albany become our best ambassadorial recruiters, and we need to continue the tradition of hospitality and service that this campus has always sought to provide,” he observed. 
    “We are pleased with the growing presence of international students and scholars on our campus, and with the broad spectrum of countries and cultures that informs our classrooms, laboratories, and living settings,” continued Thomson.  “We are proud of the many contributions and accomplishments made by our international students both in the United States and in their home countries.”
    Added Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Judy L. Genshaft:  “International education and research play a central role within our strategic planning document and the University's values and goals.  The University at Albany is committed to providing our students with international exposure and experience, both here and abroad.  At the same time, we support the many international initiatives in the colleges and schools, and applaud the growth of our international student population on campus.”

    While others were sitting at home on New Year's Eve waiting to see whether their heat and power would go out, School of Business Professor Paul Miesing greeted the millennium in Bangkok as part of a month-long tour of Southeast Asia.
    Miesing, an associate professor of management who has taught at the University at Albany for 20 years, traveled to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia in part because of the experience he had teaching as a Fulbright Scholar at Fudan University in Shanghai during the 1998-'99 academic year.
    Miesing's job as a Fulbright was to teach business courses to students at Fudan. The University has enjoyed excellent relations with Fudan University for more than two decades, and has a joint B.A./M.B.A. program in which UAlbany students spend their junior year at Fudan learning advanced Chinese. In turn, top students from Fudan come to UAlbany to earn an M.B.A. The Fulbright is separate from the University's program, but Miesing used the opportunity to meet periodically with UAlbany students who were studying at Fudan.
    “I was sent to teach the M.B.A. students strategic management,”  Miesing said. “Graduate programs in China are pretty new. And M.B.A. programs are really new but very hot.”
    The professor met with his first classroom surprise the day he asked who had read the assigned case. Only a few hands went up. Later, he found out that students must work for three years before they can qualify for a business M.B.A. program in China. Since they were still working, few had time to prepare class cases.
    “They are pretty responsible managers - these guys are the elite, the cream of the crop - and they are going to be running the show,” he said. “They go to school two days a week, work full time, and have class a few evenings a week and on weekends. And they travel for work. They told me they have to take as many as seven courses a semester. There is no way that they could have time to prepare for class,” he said. “They see class as a place to come in and hear you talk.”
    Miesing said his students tended to take a lot of notes but were not quick to voice their opinions. By breaking the class into small discussion groups and requiring each group to have a leader who would report to the class on the small group findings, he was able to generate more discussion.
    Miesing also found his students to be enthusiastic, interested, and friendly. He played basketball with them and socialized with them. Conversation was not always easy, since Miesing did not know Chinese at the time. (He took Introduction to Mandarin at UAlbany upon his return in Fall 1999.) Most, but not all, of his students abroad knew English. 
     Looking back on his experience fondly, Miesing said, “The best place to be teaching M.B.A. students is as a Fulbright in Shanghai. That's as good as it can get.” To fulfill the teaching requirements of the Fulbright, he taught business ethics in Spring 1999 in Fudan's joint program with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. M.I.T. received $10 million from a Hong Kong corporation to have first crack at locating the best M.B.A. students.
    “With this money they were able to improve the infrastructure of the classrooms. These business classrooms were as good as the ones here. I just brought in a laptop and went to work,” he said.
While in China, Miesing lived in the foreign experts' residence in Shanghai.  He had such a positive experience there that when he returned to UAlbany, for the first time he considered the possibility of becoming a faculty member in residence. He now lives on Alumni Quad.
    Miesing is philosophical about the challenges of doing business in China. “American firms need to know why they want to expand in China, and to be aware of the risks going into such a venture.” Some of the reasons a company may not flourish include unexpected marketplace changes, new competition and technology, or having the government step in and change the rules, he said.
    There are some inherent conflicts to overcome as well. China as a country seeks order and stability and resists drastic change, he said. 
    “There is a saying in China: The nail that stands up gets hammered down,” Miesing said. American companies, on the other hand, want managers who will take risks, show initiative, and be entrepreneurial.
     “Americans sometimes operate on the mistaken assumption that based on the numbers alone, $1 multiplied by a billion people, they can make money in China. This is simply not the case. Some firms have done OK, but others have had to pull back. Few U.S. firms make money in China. There has been a rush to get rich in China, but it hasn't worked,” he said. Perhaps American business should take the long view. “China is patient. They have great numbers but they have time on their side too. They will remind you that they have 5,000 years as a continuous civilization. Maybe we should be patient too,” he said.
    As for Miesing, he had such a positive experience as a Fulbright scholar that he hopes to return to China again, perhaps to continue research on the topic of  “Chinese Minds in U.S. Bodies,” that is, examining what happens when Chinese managers work for American corporations - and how different styles of doing business can be bridged.