Industry and Community Engagement
The International Business Bachelor of Applied Science program is dedicated to serving our community, connecting with employers, and ensuring student success. The International Business program is a career focused bachelor’s degree program, emphasizing applied business skills and real-life industry projects. Our connection to regional employers and organizations is essential to help us:
- understand and meet regional business needs,
- host meaningful events for career exploration and hiring,
- develop industry focused projects and curriculum, and
- provide internship and career opportunities for students and graduates.
The staff and faculty of the International Business B.A.S degree can assist employers and community members connect with our program and engage our students in a variety of ways. Listed below are some ways to engage with our program and our students. Contact our Program Director, Jesse Cooley, to discuss how you or your organization can get involved.
Hire Students and Graduates
Our diverse group of International Business students are always searching for new part-time and full-time internship and career opportunities. We want to work with employers and make it easy to hire students and graduates who are a great fit for your organization.
Post a Position
Employers can post jobs and internships on Handshake, an online database that all Seattle Colleges District students and graduates can use to search and apply for jobs and internships. Additionally, employers can email the job posting to our program staff and we can post and promote the position on our internal International Business Student Resources page, used exclusively by students currently in the International Business program.
Internships
Every student in the International Business program must complete an internship prior to graduating. We strongly recommend employers use internships as valuable opportunities to work with students prior to graduation and utilize the experiences and work completed during the internship to evaluate whether the student could be a permanent addition to your organization.
If you or your organization wants to create an internship, or develop an internship program, we strongly encourage you to connect with our Internship Coordinator, Carla Thompson, to assist in reviewing labor laws and identifying best practices surrounding internships.
Business Career and Internship Fair
Every winter quarter (late January – early March) North Seattle College hosts a Business Career and Internship fair. The fair provides an opportunity for organizations to promote their current job and internship openings to current students, graduates, and community members. Priority is given to organizations with career and internship opportunities in accounting, marketing, finance, international business, sales, property management, and real estate. If you are interested in participating in the Business Career and Internship fair, please contact our program staff for more information.
Other Ways to Get Involved
If you or your organization are not currently hiring, but would still like to be involved, we have several other options. If you are interested in any of the follow options, please contact Jesse Cooley to explore how you or your organization can get involved.
Industry Events
In addition to the Business Career and Internship fair, our International Business program has several other events throughout the year that need community and industry participation in order to succeed. Some of our regular events include mock interviews, various industry sector panels, and guest speaking opportunities.
Course Projects
Almost all of the courses in the International Business program require group projects and research completed by students. Organizations can work directly with faculty members to embed industry projects into the curriculum. In past courses students have created marketing plans, project management plans, business plans for small businesses, and proposed supply chain recommendations for import/export companies. Real-world course projects grant students experience working on real-life projects with deliverables and time-constraints, while providing businesses with new research and solutions.
Additionally, the International Business program participates annually in the Global Work Integrated Learning (GWIL) project with universities in Australia and Malaysia. Once every three years North Seattle College’s International Business program is the host institution. The host institution is responsible for identifying and working with a regional industry partner to provide a larger, international-focused project for the GWIL project. The International Business program is searching for appropriate industry clients and projects for the next time we are the host institution.
Program Advisory Board
The Program Advisory Board (PAB) is comprised of industry members and professionals working in international business fields throughout the region. We highly value the insight and expertise that current professionals and industry members can add to our program. The connection with current industry leaders is incredibly important and helps ensure we are generating graduates who possess the skills and knowledge necessary to become valuable interns and employees.
Advisory Board members can be involved in various ways with the program. Some common levels of involvement include:
- Providing industry updates at board meetings, including news, trends, and insights into each board members’ area of expertise.
- Reviewing and updating curriculum to keep course content relevant and up-to-date based on changing industry and hiring needs.
- Providing projects or cases to instructors to use as course materials.
- Participating as a guest speaker in classes, taking part in a panel, and/or attending other job and career events (ex. career and internship fair, mock interviews).
- Providing internship and/or career opportunities for students and alumni.
- Using professional networks to further connect and integrate the program into the regional business landscape.