Bachelor of Business (Honours) in International Business

Why take this course?
The world’s economy is increasingly global. As a result, demand continues to grow for individuals who understand the global context of business: from the logistics of international trade and cross-border investments to the cultural and ethical issues that are imbued in the practice of business around the world. By studying international business, students will learn about world cultures and societies, and be challenged to approach issues from different perspectives. These competencies are increasingly valuable to employers faced with the challenge of opening and integrating multiple markets and achieving cohesion and collegiality in increasingly diverse workforces. The opportunities for a career in business with languages continue to increase, in a globalized environment. The need for multilingual graduates with a business qualification is clear with increasing opportunities in areas such as sales, marketing and supply chain management. The fact that Ireland’s top ten trading partners include Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, France, China, Spain & Japan supports the statement by the Irish Business Employers Confederation (Ibec) that :

“in short, Ireland needs an all-encompassing ‘vision for the future’ for modern languages. This requires a clear policy position on the place and role of languages in Irish society which is linked to national aspirations for international engagement in business, education, and culture “.(Ibec, Submission on Foreign Languages in Education, 2014, p45).

Ireland’s Strategy for Foreign Languages in Education 2017-2026 sets out a vision that places Ireland in the top ten countries in Europe for the teaching and learning of foreign languages, through a number of measures targeted at improving proficiency and immersion. The aforementioned strategy aims to make Ireland’s training and education the best in Europe within a decade. Under the Foreign Languages Strategy of the Department Education and Skills (2017) the government plans to:

• increase the number of students in higher education studying a foreign language, in any capacity, as part of their course, by 20%.
• increase the number of participants in Erasmus+ by 50%.
• improve learners’ attitude to foreign language learning

It is clear that the third level sector should be encouraged and supported to equip all students with strong language skills as well as intercultural awareness. The sector should be persuaded to develop programs for students to pursue language learning options which, while most probably outside their specialist area of study, may well be of huge benefit.

The European Commission’s Foreign Languages Advisory Group sets out a number of recommendations with regard to the teaching of languages and develops options to put language skills in context. The report states:

“companies who are looking for language skills are generally in search of recruits with the ability to apply those skills to a variety of different work situations. They are also looking for good communicators regardless of language and for people with cultural competence, ability to work in multilingual and multicultural teams, flexibility and international experience. In some Member States, the discussion about partial skills and job-specific language competences is considered as stating the obvious, but not everywhere .” (European Commission, Languages for Jobs, n.d., p19).

Ibec (2014) has argued that a lack of language competence is leading to a scenario of ‘unquantifiable missed opportunities’ for Irish exporters and that many ‘tend not to even consider markets where they perceive language and cultural differences are an entry barrier’ (p5). It is abundantly clear that the learning of a foreign language is no longer a luxury for the minority but a necessity for the majority. It is an international calling card which results in many opportunities for those who choose to embrace the challenge.

What will I experience?
The program intends to deliberately align the planned learning activities and learning outcomes. This is a conscious effort to provide the learner with a clearly specified goal, well-designed learning activities that are appropriate for the task, and well-designed assessment criteria for giving feedback to the learning alignments. A further focus will be placed on encouraging students to become engaged in the content and commence on a pathway to independent learning. The learning objectives of the syllabi will be achieved by a range of teaching and learning methods, which will include, though may not be limited to:

• Lectures will be designed to provide the student with the fundamental knowledge of the given module;
• Practical Workshops will provide the student with the opportunity to apply the theory, concepts and principles in practice;
• Group work such as discussions, group exercises will facilitate peer-supported learning, team-working, and creativity;
• Projects and case studies will provide the student with an understanding of the practical application of theory in a cross-functional setting;
• Learning Management system used in AIT is the Moodle platform, which is an online resource that will be used to facilitate access to class notes, resources, discussion forums, sharing resources, etc., as well as using the platform as a means of communication via e-mail, notices.
• Flipped Classrooms will be used to help students learn more deeply, participate actively in their learning while also learning from one another.
• Team-Based Learning can develop problem solving and interpersonal skills as it helps students to learn, work, interact and collaborate in teams which is essential for success in any business environment.

Additional Information
After the recent sharp global recession and as Ireland move into recovery, skills shortages are now emerging in certain areas and occupations. Global trends and drivers of change such as changing consumption patterns and shifting power structures are shaping international markets and emerging enterprise sectors. Other core or transversal skills like languages and entrepreneurship will also underpin Ireland’s use of its talent offering as a global differentiator (National Skills Strategy, 2025).

The National Skills Bulletin (2018) highlights Ireland’s current skills shortages by occupation. These include multilingual skills for associate professionals in ICT, sales & marketing, administrative staff in financial service, freight transport, distribution & logistics, customer service representatives and product/account managers. Foreign language and cultural awareness languages are in high demand for businesses. Languages of interest include German, French Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and the Nordic languages.

Preliminary figures for 2018 show that goods exports were valued at €140,835 million in 2018, the highest total on record. This is an increase of €18,123 million (+15%) over 2017. The largest category of exports was Medical and pharmaceutical products. Exports of these goods accounted for a third (33%) of all exports.