Unlike Ivy League schools that are highly regarded overseas, Syracuse University is a school unheard of to some companies in Asia. Chao Dou is working to change that.

‘I wanted to get our name abroad so that when I go to Asia, they will know what Syracuse is, besides just knowing Cornell and Harvard,’ said Dou, a junior architecture major and president of Work In Asia, a student-run initiative at SU.

Work In Asia will bring in four speakers, three of whom are SU employees, Friday to help students find job opportunities in Asia. The initiative’s event will begin at 11:30 a.m. in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management atrium and will focus on China, India, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

The speakers include Shane Berkeley, executive director of investment bank operations at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Hong Kong; Chung Chen, professor of managerial statistics in Whitman; Chuck Reutlinger, associate director of SU Career Services; and Julie Riverso, SU Abroad admissions counselor for Strasbourg, Hong Kong and Beijing.

Work In Asia, which submitted a petition last semester and is waiting to become a recognized student organization on campus, began with the intention of promoting SU overseas. The initiative opens doors for interested students by helping them locate job opportunities in the region, Dou said. Work In Asia also helps students familiarize themselves with the culture in specific areas — something students may find intimidating, Dou said.

Dou said he hopes more than 80 students will attend the event Friday. Last year’s event drew about 70 students.

Riverso, the SU Abroad admissions counselor, said there is an increase in the number of students interested in studying abroad in Asia, and many students have also expressed interest in working there after they graduate. Riverso said there have been a couple of American students from SU who started their own companies in Beijing.

SU Abroad presents opportunities to network with students at local universities in these cities, said Riverso, who will speak Friday about what SU Abroad can offer students.

Riverso said Work In Asia also helps students network with fellow students who come from countries in which they want to work.

‘I think it would be neat to have more opportunities for students to find jobs abroad,’ she said. ‘And I think the key is networking — nothing is easier than networking nowadays because you’ve got so many tools at your disposal. The world’s getting smaller every day.’

Reutlinger, the associate director of Career Services who will speak at the event Friday about resume writing and interviewing, said he supports the initiative’s efforts and sees it as a complementary group to Career Services, providing a regional focus for which Career Services may not be staffed.

Though it is not new to see companies in Asia actively recruiting students, Reutlinger said there is an increase in American students interested in finding jobs in Asia, citing a booming economy and increased opportunities for internships abroad as prime reasons.

Reutlinger said Work In Asia has the potential to become a vital group if its members can make connections with alumni and companies abroad to generate student interest and provide enough incentives for students to seriously consider working somewhere other than home.

‘The fact that we have a lot of students in our study abroad program testifies we’ve got a lot of students who like to see the world,’ Reutlinger said. ‘But I’m not sure how many students would entertain picking up and working abroad for some time.’

atanying@syr.edu

 

 

 

 

Published on February 23, 2011 at 12:00 pm