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Program Discription
The goal of this study abroad program will be for participants to feel the pulse of present-day Russian life and the workings of Russian society. The three-week in-country program is designed to provide the students with a structured opportunity to learn about contemporary social and economic changes, as well as cultural developments currently taking place in Russia.
Background Information
With a population of approximately 150 million, Russia has a huge potential consumer market. Its improved economic and political performance under President Vladimir Putin, the pro-global economies of his government and major Russian corporations, together with the country's seemingly endless supplies of many of the world's most vital resources, are making Russia increasingly more attractive for international business co-operation.
In 2002, the United States proclaimed Russia to have reached the status of a "market economy," and the international credit ratings agency, Standard and Poor's, upgraded Russia's rating, assigning a stable investment outlook. At the same time the Russian government has advocated its continuing commitment to encouraging the private sector, reducing bureaucratic controls, inviting foreign investment, and further integrating Russia into the global economy. These measures have created an economic climate in which personal income has been rising more than 20 percent a year. (Thus U.S. and other foreign business activity is on the rise, drawing to Russia such companies as Kraft Foods, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, DHL, General Electric, ChevronTexaco, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, etc. As business conditions continue to improve in Russia, U. S. companies no doubt will be looking even more seriously at this large and potentially prosperous economy. Thus it is highly desirable that Purdue students acquire first-hand knowledge about Russia.
This cross-school and interdisciplinary study-abroad Maymester program will offer an in-depth introduction to the economic and social changes, and cultural and political developments that have emerged in contemporary Russia, thereby providing participants with some nuanced judgment, critical insight, and possibly imaginative problem-solving skills.
The specific objectives of the study abroad program will be both to integrate study-abroad activities directly into the curriculum and to integrate academic disciplines into the teaching of international issues.
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