Linking up with Asian giants

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Aside from the requisite credentials and experience, more and more businesses dealing in a global market seek employees with foreign language skills and cultural competency.

It's partly why Allen Minnehan, 27, a mechanical engineer from Lindenhurst, started learning Mandarin Chinese and something about Chinese culture at the College of Lake County in Grayslake.

Minnehan, who works with Motorola's mobile devices division in Libertyville, frequently travels to Asia, as many of the components designed here are manufactured in China and other Asian countries.

"It always sparked my interest to want to communicate more with the local people," he said. "With the way the economy is, the more that we work with China, or other Asian cultures for that matter, it could be beneficial (to learn languages)."

Increasingly, community colleges whose forte has been providing technical and vocational training, are evolving to cater to the demand for a globally savvy work force.

For years, many have offered courses on Chinese, Japanese and other Asian languages. CLC is offering what no other area community college does -- a semester's study in China.

It's part of an intensive East Asian studies program the college is launching this year to focus on a regional powerhouse in the world's economy.

If successful, the college will share its program will other community colleges in 2009.

"It's like moving the CLC classroom to China," said Li-hua Yu, program grant director. "The advantage for students is they will have first-hand cultural knowledge about China. It's very attractive."

What's also attractive is the price.

Students may pay up to $8,000 to study a semester in Europe with a four-year college. The College of Lake County is offering the semester in China for half that. That covers domestic and international travel, tuition, food, lodging, visa and medical insurance.

Students will take four courses taught by Chinese or foreign instructors in English and can transfer 12 credits back to CLC. The deadline to apply is March 1.

CLC is one of only four community colleges in the country to receive a highly competitive U.S. Department of Education grant for $61,000 to develop this program.

Starting now through the summer, the college will provide free weekend Chinese language immersion classes on campus. It will also offer a six-week summer language and culture immersion program in China and a fall semester study at China's Xi'an International Studies University.

"This is a big step for CLC," said Lourdene Huhra, dean of business and work force development. "We weren't sure what the response would be but there are a lot of students with interest."

The college's seven Chinese faculty members have led short-term study tours to China for years. They will now start faculty exchange program with Xi'an.

As part of the grant, the college will develop new courses and enhance existing classes on East Asian societies, languages and culture.

The college will host community workshops on China over six weeks starting in March. It will lead a group of local business people on a two-week trip to visit factories and companies in four Chinese cities in May 2009.

"Obviously, there's a demand for it," Huhra said. "Nationwide, the enrollments in Chinese have really grown. So many of our local businesses are already in China. Smaller businesses too, they recognize in order to be competitive, they've got to be involved with China."

CLC will serve as the test site for the semester study in China. In 2009, the program, including new courses and student exchanges developed by CLC, will be offered to community college students statewide through the Illinois Consortium for International Studies and Programs.

The 42-member consortium, which has been around since the 1980s, allows community colleges to pool students for study abroad experiences. Through it, students have participated in semester-long programs in Canterbury, England, and Salzburg, Austria, for many years.

"There are students now who are really asking for more diverse study abroad opportunities," said Katherine Schuster, coordinator of global studies for Oakton Community College, which has campuses in Des Plaines and Skokie. "They want to go to India, China, Africa … that wasn't always the case."

As community colleges turn their attention to Asia, countries like China, India, Thailand and Vietnam are actively courting colleges here to build alliances.

"They have sort of discovered the community college as a really viable place to have these partnerships because they are so affordable," Schuster said. "They are sending delegations that are traveling around the United States trying to make these partnerships and connections with U.S. institutions."

Schuster said aside from the typical exchanges of language and culture, Chinese universities are interested in creating exchange programs for their students and faculty for vocational training offered at community colleges here.

"That's something we do really well -- vocational education, employee training and retraining for companies," she said. "They are really looking for models from the community colleges."

Community colleges are starting to attract more international students too by broadening course offerings, said Mary Hatch, dean of liberal, visual and performing arts for Elgin Community College.

"We're an option," Hatch said. "They have limited access to higher education at this time in China. They can't keep up with the demand for education in India. It's not a fully-tapped market. For now, we have an opportunity."

The Asian connection

Community colleges throughout the region are increasing their focus on international studies, particularly Asia.

College of Lake County

Launching an East Asian studies program, as part of a federal grant. It includes:

• Developing new courses and enhancing existing classes on East Asian societies, languages and culture; hosting workshops on China starting March 13; offering free Chinese language immersion classes, 9 a.m. to noon every other Saturday starting Feb. 9 through the summer on campus at 19351 W. Washington St., Grayslake.

• Offering a six-week summer language and culture immersion program in China and a fall semester study at China's Xi'an International Studies University. The $4,000 cost covers domestic and international travel, tuition, food, lodging, visa and medical insurance. The deadline to apply is March 1.

For more information, call (847) 543-2741 or visit www.clcillinois.edu/depts/socdv/studyabroad.

What other colleges offer

• Elgin Community College: Developing a global studies certificate. The college set up a task force for global/international studies to promote multicultural and global awareness among students and faculty.

• College of DuPage: 13 years ago, established Regional Center for Asian Studies Development, one of 20 such centers in the country. Offers courses on several Asian languages, history and culture, leads study tours to the region, hosts yearly Asia festivals, symposiums and workshops.

• Oakton Community College: Offers courses on Asian philosophy and humanities and several Asian languages including, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and possibly Hindi. Working on a grant to lead a group of 12 faculty members from area community colleges to India for five weeks.

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