Student feedback on an international study tour

An International Study Tour to Asia has been successfully operating for a number of years, and anecdotal information from both the students and from the staff accompanying the tour is that it has been highly successful in exposing students to international business and different cultures, albeit at the cost of high levels of stress to some students. Many of our students have no prior experience of other cultures or of international travel, and while our student demographic is diverse with respect to age (many of our students are mature age and parents), many experienced severe culture shock and unexpectedly high levels of homesickness. During 2008, a research project was initiated, where past students were interviewed to ascertain their perspectives of the impact on them from participating in the study tour---both professionally and personally. This paper reports on the outcomes from interviews with the 2007-8 students.