Business students learn cultural intelligence through course trip to Denmark

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State business students said their course work in global leadership this semester and an immersive trip to Denmark have deepened their understanding of what it takes to navigate different cultures.

In "MGMT 345: Cultural Intelligence in Leadership and Management," students are learning the concepts of how national culture can influence the workplace, leadership styles, operations and communication of businesses in different countries. They are using Hydro, a leading aluminum and renewable energy company with 32,000 employees in 40 countries, as a case study of how a multinational corporation can adapt to local customs while maintaining a global identity.

A group of online learners from Penn State World Campus and students from the Penn State Schuylkill campus are taking the course. They toured a Hydro plant in Pennsylvania in February and visited Hydro facilities in Denmark and experienced Danish culture over spring break.

In the last few weeks of the semester, they are working on a final assignment that synthesizes course concepts and travel experiences by analyzing cultural dimensions they observed abroad, reflecting on key cultural lessons learned, and developing personalized action plans for enhancing their cultural intelligence (CQ) and global citizenship.

Jill Tate, a Penn State World Campus student, said the immersive experience in Denmark personalized and solidified what she had been learning. Tate is an adult learner who worked in a Fortune 500 company leading and managing global teams, and she was hoping to use the trip to gain new perspectives on how to better manage global teams.

“I wanted to learn how to recognize and benefit from the differences, to adapt my communication and management style to fit the person’s needs as well as to make the team inclusive,” Tate said. “Global teams are everywhere now because of the use of so many collaborative online tools, and building these skills is now even more essential to me. This class offered me the opportunity to learn about cultural intelligence and management, to build the capability to function across cultural contexts, but part of my learning also had me examine my own prejudices and how they were dictating my behavior.”

Experiential learning

"MGMT 345" is a new course in the online bachelor’s in business degree from Penn State World Campus. It is being taught by Gina Whalen, associate teaching professor of business at Penn State Schuylkill and the faculty director of the bachelor’s in business program through World Campus.

In preparation for the trip, Whalen focused students’ course work around the foundational knowledge about cultural intelligence so they could apply the concepts in real time during the trip. Prior to going to Denmark, the students met with the management of the Hydro plant in Cressona, which is near Penn State Schuylkill.

In Denmark, they toured three locations, meeting with management and seeing the operations in a completely different environment from the one in Pennsylvania. Whalen and Ron Kelly, an assistant teaching professor of criminal justice at Penn State Schuylkill, accompanied the students on the trip.

"This trip was an incredible opportunity for students to put cultural intelligence into practice, and they didn’t just study culture — they lived it,” Whalen said. “From trying new foods to engaging in thoughtful conversations with locals, they embraced every moment. Seeing their curiosity, adaptability, and enthusiasm firsthand was a testament to the power of experiential learning."

World Campus student Amie Ruth wanted to broaden her knowledge about the cultural differences in leadership and management. She works for a global company, and cultural intelligence is important to her in the workplace, she said.

“Stepping outside my comfort zone, meeting new people, and bringing back insights to grow as a leader were my biggest goals,” Ruth said. “More than anything, I hoped to return with a deeper understanding of global business and the confidence to apply those lessons in my career.”

Cultural experiences

The students also studied the culture of Denmark to prepare them for both the businesses they visited as well as the towns and cities they would explore as cultural excursions.

Ruth said a highlight for her was seeing Denmark’s commitment to sustainable energy everywhere, from windmill-dotted landscapes to the CopenHill Ski Resort, which converts 440,000 tons of waste into clean energy annually while also serving as a ski slope.

Tate said she enjoyed a bike tour of Copenhagen, learning about its history and sampling its cuisine. The guide was an anthropologist, who Tate said shared insights into how Danes relate to their government and their views on education, taxes and green initiatives.

Creating a learning community

While the students were learning and exploring, they were also creating connections with each other. Ruth said her classmates were just as important to her learning about cultural intelligence as the lessons were.

“Each of us had unique backgrounds, experiences, and cultures that made us different, but those differences also brought us together,” Ruth said. “I started this trip with strangers and left with friends I felt like I had known my entire life. The connections we built, the conversations we had, and the experiences we shared made this trip even more meaningful. It wasn’t just about what I learned from Denmark — it was also about what I learned from the people around me.”

Whalen said that one of the most rewarding aspects of the trip was seeing the students who come together to learn.

“They arrived with different perspectives — some bringing academic insights, others sharing professional experiences — but they quickly formed a strong learning community,” Whalen said. “This experience reinforced the value of global education for all learners, and I look forward to creating more opportunities like this in the future.”

Scholarship support for online learners

Student Caroline Linn received one of the scholarships offered by Penn State World Campus. She received support from the Collective Commitment to Equity Fund. Created by Vice President for Online Education Renata Engel and her husband, Leland, and supported by donor and engineering alumna Priscilla Guthrie, the fund provides resources for students to have outside-the-classroom educational experiences like studying abroad or unpaid internships.

Linn, who is 22, has been financially independent since she was 18 and works two jobs to support herself and pay tuition. She said the scholarship funding helped make this experience possible.

“Traveling is one of my greatest passions, and I try to do it as much as I can, but I am extremely limited in such opportunities due to my work schedule and financial state,” Linn said. “Without this scholarship, this experience is not something I considered would happen in my near future.”

Linn hopes to run her own business and potentially live abroad, and she said the course presented her with the opportunity to gain experience toward realizing those goals. She said the differences between the Pennsylvania-based and Denmark-based Hydro plants stood out to her, and she enjoyed learning about the culture on the tours of Copenhagen.

A Penn State education online

Penn State World Campus has been offering a Penn State education online for more than 25 years, and it now has a comprehensive selection of more than 200 degree and certificate programs.

World Campus students can enrich their online learning experience through a wide variety of activities, such as internships, service, clubs and organizations, and experiential learning like study abroad through the bachelor’s in business.

Visit the Penn State World Campus website to learn more about the bachelor's in business that is offered online.