What will make you an outstanding entrepreneur? Doing well in your undergraduate courses will definitely help; completing an internship will be important, too. In addition, the qualities you develop as a study abroad student are the ones that will take your academic knowledge and achievements to the next level.
Studying abroad can translate your educational experiences into entrepreneurial success. A change of scene, immersion in another culture, and making connections with others in a new place are all contributing factors to leadership, innovation, and more - in essence, qualities that are integral to making you and your ideas stand out. Keep reading to discover how studying abroad can help you reach your entrepreneurial goals.
Increase Your Mental Agility and Problem Solving Skills
The option to go to an English language university in Italy is exciting and gives you the opportunity to tackle a unique challenge. Entrepreneurship requires commitment in a similar way. How so? In both cases, you can do research and prepare, but once you launch, you are setting foot in new territory.
When you study abroad, you learn to navigate a new city and a new culture. Your attention to your surroundings will be heightened as you get to know the names of streets, important locations, and cultural customs. This heightened attention, that is different from the everyday in your home city, will contribute to your mental agility and problem-solving skills. In fact, according to one psychology journal, “recalling a multicultural learning experience facilitates idea flexibility,” which is the ability to solve problems in more than one way. This can support your entrepreneurial aspirations, and make you a stronger student as well.
Global Awareness Is Key to Modern Entrepreneurship
The global economy today is more connected than ever. If you have aspirations to start a business and build it up to an international company, your study abroad in Rome experience will be particularly valuable. You will gain important insights about inter-cultural connections and increase your global awareness.
You could even directly connect your business to Italy - and John Cabot University's Institute for Entrepreneurship can help you do that! Your first-hand experience in another nation can go a long way in establishing economic relationships and knowing how to market your business. Furthermore, this knowledge and experience can translate to expanding elsewhere because you will have a model for how to adapt to a new place and what kinds of questions will be valuable to ask when doing business in a foreign economy.
Be a Better Team Leader
Even if you do not plan to “go global” with your entrepreneurial enterprise, cultural awareness is still extremely important for leadership skills. Studying in a foreign city will make you more sensitive to other cultures and diverse perspectives, which is an essential quality for leading a team, not to mention things like group work for university classes. Your respect for other cultures contributes to creating a welcoming and productive work environment for everyone.
Additionally, when you are comfortable integrating diversity into your academic life and business, you will have a stronger team with a wider variety of ideas to support your entrepreneurial efforts. This idea is supported by at least one study, highlighted by Forbes, which found that “increasing the diversity of leadership teams leads to more and better innovation and improved financial performance.” There are more benefits, but the best way to discover them is by seeing for yourself!
Want to go to university in Rome?
Find out how you can study abroad with John Cabot University today!
