Field trips to Lloyd's of London, the Central Bank of London, and the London Stock Exchange will add a live the learning flavour to an upcoming macroeconomics course offered by Lakeland College.
This spring 15 Lakeland students will spend two weeks at Regents College in London taking macroeconomics from Lakeland instructor Brad Onofrychuk. There's no better place to take macroeconomics than in London, the financial centre of the world, says Onofrychuk.
"Macroeconomics deals with issues such as employment, fiscal policy, international payments and more. We'll study topics such as international banking systems in class and later visit the Central Bank. I think it's a great opportunity for the students. The field trips will really complement their course work," he says.
The Lakeland contingent - which includes 14 business students and one university transfer student - will be in London from May 8 to 22. They'll live in residence at Regents College and classes will be held Mondays to Thursdays with tours Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Fridays are for exams and presentations, and on the weekends, they'll sightsee. While in England the students are required to blog about their experience.
"It will be great to come out of college with a unique experience that really adds to our education. I think it will broaden our thinking about business," says Jon Hines of Marwayne, a student in the bachelor of commerce program.
Katelyn Schmidt of Wainwright is the lone university transfer student on the excursion. She saw the poster promoting the opportunity to study in London and knew she had to take part. In high school she went to Italy with members of her school band and it was an incredible experience.
"I love to travel. It's fun and you learn so much," she says, adding that she's looking forward to living the college experience at Regents.
Micro and macroeconomics are mandatory first year courses for Lakeland College business students. Microeconomics was offered in the fall semester and Onofrychuk is currently teaching macroeconomics to about 80 students at the Lloydminster campus. Those who chose to participate in the London trip are doing online assignments to prepare for the intense two-week course. "They need to have a certain level of understanding of macroeconomics because in London we'll discuss more advanced topics," says Onofrychuk.
Study abroad opportunities are becoming more common at Lakeland. Last year about 20 students in human services programs travelled to Australia to help organize a Fun4Kids Children's Festival.
