Villanova University Receives Grant from Freeman Foundation to Expand Internship Opportunities in Asia

VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova University has been awarded a grant from The Freeman Foundation to its Center for Global Leadership, housed in the Villanova School of Business (VSB). The grant will expand student participation in internships in East and Southeast Asia. The funding will allow students from across the University’s schools and colleges to take part in internship programs in Asia, including the Shanghai International Business Internship program and the Global Citizens Program in Singapore, as well as expanded internship opportunities for engineering students in Indonesia and Cambodia.  

The grant is a continuation of the Freeman Foundation’s partnership with Villanova to create opportunities for students to study and work in key emerging global markets where they gain a competitive edge for future job opportunities. This funding has helped drive student participation in the East and Southeast Asia internship programs. This past summer, 29 students successfully completed internships in Asia, up from 13 in summer 2014. The Freeman Foundation funding was responsible for a 107 percent increase in program enrollments over this period. The new funding will provide scholarships for 80 students through spring 2020.

“Developing new internship opportunities and leveraging relationships with Villanova alumni throughout Asia will significantly expand Villanova’s reach and broaden students’ perspectives about how business is conducted in another part of the world,” said Kim Cahill, Director of the Center for Global Leadership. “Students will experience a new culture and professional environment that will enhance their abilities and challenge their world perspective, and they will create a vast network of professional contacts that will prove invaluable in our increasingly interconnected world.”

International experiences are considered an integral part of education at Villanova. Nearly 40 percent of the Villanova University graduating class of 2017 studied overseas for at least a summer and one-third participated in an international summer or semester-length internship experience. This Freeman Foundation grant will allow for even greater participation by students in the East and South East Asia internship program.

“In order for our students to help solve problems and to succeed in our complex world, it is imperative that they graduate with the global awareness and cross-cultural skills that these internship experiences offer,” added Elizabeth Campanella, Director of the Office of Education Abroad.      

Expanding and enhancing internship opportunities in East and Southeast Asia, a dynamic region with some of the world’s fastest changing economies, will be an invaluable experience in today’s competitive global economy.

Villanova alumni in East and Southeast Asia help identify internship placements for students, provide mentoring and facilitate site visits and other services in the region. Asian internship placements for 2016-17 included positions in China, Singapore, Cambodia and Indonesia for 30 students.

About Villanova University: Since 1842, Villanova University’s Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition has been the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University's six colleges – the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Villanova School of Business, the College of Engineering, the College of Nursing, the College of Professional Studies and the Villanova University School of Law. As students grow intellectually, Villanova prepares them to become ethical leaders who create positive change everywhere life takes them.

The Villanova School of Business (VSB) undergraduate program is ranked #1 in the nation by Bloomberg Businessweek and has been at the forefront of business education since it was founded in 1922. Serving over 2,700 undergraduate and graduate students, VSB is home to five Centers of Excellence (the Daniel M. DiLella Center for Real Estate, the Center for Business Analytics, the Center for Global Leadership, the Center for Marketing & Consumer Insights and the Center for Church Management), each designed to foster innovative, cross-disciplinary research and teaching opportunities for business faculty as well as experiential and industry-related learning opportunities for students. VSB is known for academic rigor; creativity and innovation; hands-on and service learning opportunities; a firm grounding in ethics; and an applied education that prepares students to become outstanding leaders and global citizens within the ever-changing, complex, and fast-paced world of business. For more, visit business.villanova.edu.