By Rachel Williams, The Vista Contributor

Touring the Louvre, exploring the city of Reims, and observing the business district of Paris could give a competitive edge to your career.

“We encourage students to do internships overseas,” professor Saba Bahouth said. He explained study tours offer students “alternatives to international exposure” without the commitment and life disruption of internships.

Bahouth, a professor in UCO’s Department of Information Systems and Operations Management, will take a group of 12 students to Paris in summer 2010 to experience business sites and to learn elements of French culture.

Bahouth said when the business department announced the first Paris study tour, it was full within two weeks.

So, to accommodate rising demand for international experiences, Bahouth and the department organized a second trip for August 2010.

“You have to deal with an international market,” Bahouth said. Because Oklahoma is a centrally located, landlocked state, “we are as far from a foreign country as possible.” In the last few years, UCO has been “focusing more and more on the global perspective,” Bahouth said.

Bahouth said France, which is one of the largest economies in Europe, is “one of the major competitors with the US.” Students will visit the Paris business district, equivalent to Manhattan in New York City.

Though business students will gain valuable insight into the globalization of their field, business will certainly not be the only focus of the trip.

“How do other people socially interact with other – it’s more cultural,” Bahouth said. He stated students learn to navigate in European countries and conduct themselves “efficiently, like a local.”

“We only use our legs and public transportation,” Bahouth said.

While some universities hire commercial tour companies to plan and conduct their study tours, Bahouth emphasized he plans accommodations and routes personally so students glean the experience of day-to-day living and working in a European country.

“Last year, I was in Paris four times,” he said.

So far, four students have registered for the second Paris tour, which is worth three credit hours.

Bahouth encourages students to make the earliest commitment possible if they are interested in enrolling for the tour. “Soon it will be closed,” Bahouth said.