By H. Keith Moo-Young

In today’s day and age, students are expected to go above and beyond what is experienced in the traditional classroom setting. Students are expected to have a full body of work experience by means of internships, co-ops and other extracurricular experiences by graduation. But beyond that, holding international experience has become a crucial differentiator.

According to a 2016 study conducted by the Economic Intelligence Unit, about 55 percent of respondents from nine countries around the world felt the international experience they acquired while obtaining their higher education has proven beneficial to them in seeking employment. Further, nearly two-thirds of respondents felt their international experience helped them find a good job, and those with international experience were more likely to be employed within six months of graduation.

More and more, students are expected to have international experience because with the skills they grow from those experiences, they gain a worldly outlook in their career sector, a mindset for global competitiveness and an established ethic for working collaboratively with a variety of different cultures and ways of thinking.

Here at Washington State University Tri-Cities, we offer a variety of global opportunities for our students to not only study abroad, but also expand their global skills set that will position them for success post graduation.

WSU Tri-Cities is currently working with universities around the world to create a pipeline for international students. One of the purposes of this is to create opportunities for global networking among our students. When students make friends with and network with individuals of different cultures and from different countries than their own, they learn to embrace cultural differences, diversity and alternative ways of thinking, which in turn expands their worldview. Likewise, students from those different countries experience the American culture and educational system, all the while learning about customs that may differ from their own and further develop their English language fluency.

These partnerships with both universities and global companies are crucial to advancing research, which has a profound impact on industry innovation. As as a result of some of these international partnerships, we welcome students from countries including China, Pakistan, Iraq, Australia and several countries in Europe, where students complete world-class research. Through this research, advancements in biofuels and bioproducts, health practices, nuclear and environmental engineering procedures and technology, wine science, educational pedagogy and methodology and much more have been adopted and implemented in modern-day industry throughout the world.

Beginning this year, we partnered with WSU Pullman to offer an English language learning program, which provides our international students with opportunities to build upon their English skills before they enter into their competitive academic programs and pursue research. The program also provides opportunities for community members to build their English skills so that they can be successful in their own endeavors.

We also have a variety of opportunities for study abroad and dual degree programs that stand to build upon our students’ outlook for what is possible in a variety of career fields. We partner with the Zurich University of Applied Sciences to offer an undergraduate exchange and dual master’s degree program that, by the end of the experience, the students will have received either a degree in computer science or engineering from WSU and the Zurich University of Applied Sciences. Students can also sign up for a variety of study abroad experiences offered through the WSU system, as well as the opportunity to pursue faculty-led trips.

Additionally, our business students are required to complete an international experience, where they learn to relate to different cultures, the business practices associated with those cultures, as well as generally how to relate to organizations from around the world so that they may apply those skills in their future careers in business management, administration, finance and more.

At WSU Tri-Cities, our goal is to provide as many resources to our students as possible so that they may receive a global and well-rounded education and be successful in their careers. Our international partnership and programs are a crucial component of our educational competitiveness, and we are always actively looking to grow these types of opportunities for our students.

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H. Keith Moo Young is chancellor of Washington State University Tri-Cities.