FORT COLLINS – Colorado State University’s Denver Executive MBA class of 2007 will travel to the Republic of Korea and China June 9-19 in coordination with academic partners The Seoul School of Science and Technology and the China Agricultural University in Beijing.

Twenty students, staff and faculty - including Ajay Menon, dean of the College of Business - will visit several organizations, facilities and cultural sites.

An international trip is part of the Global Enterprise course within Colorado State’s Denver Executive MBA program. The course emphasizes a deeper understanding of current business practices, related institutions and underlying cultural traditions. This year, for example, the visits will underscore the growing sense of environmental responsibility manifested by some of the people, companies and agencies in both countries.

As part of its strategic plan, Colorado State is committed to growing areas of study that address global challenges and creating international partnerships to face those challenges. The university has sought like-minded institutions that share its vision and values for higher education in areas such as China, Argentina, Chile and Mexico.

In China, Colorado State has negotiated International Memoranda of Understanding to engage specific graduate research programs at Beijing Normal University, China Agricultural University, Tianjin University, the Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

The university aims to send 25 percent of all students on an international learning experience by 2015 and to increase the total number of international students to 1,100 by 2010.

Denver MBA students will begin their trip in Seoul with visits to Namyang Aloe, one of the largest providers of aloe in the world, and PSK, which launched U1 Media, a digital broadcasting company. Arrangements are also being made to visit LG Electronics and Hyundai Motors. Joint discussions will also be held with the MBA program at The Seoul School of Science and Technology.

In Beijing, Colorado State’s MBA team will be hosted by the China Agricultural University, which is a leading agricultural education and research institution in China that offers a wide range of subjects for students majoring in agriculture, biology, engineering, veterinary medicine, economics, management, humanities and social science. Colorado State will collaborate with the China Agricultural University’s MBA program on a project, visit a biomedical lab and tour an electronics firm.