When Jacob Martinez boarded his flight to Italy, he was looking for more than just great coffee and fashion. He wanted to push himself out of his comfort zone. When Jordan Wood landed in Bali after a 24-hour journey, she wasn’t just starting a vacation. She was beginning a business consulting project with a local company, navigating unfamiliar regulations and cultural nuances that would challenge everything she thought she knew about entrepreneurship.
This is what McCombs Global Connections is all about: taking business education off campus and into the real world.
The Global Connections program described here is specifically designed for Full-Time MBA students, though all McCombs MBA formats include global components that take students abroad.
What Makes Global Connections Different
Global Connections isn’t a spring break trip with some business visits tacked on. It’s a rigorous three-credit course that starts weeks before you ever pack your bags. Students spend the semester in weekly classroom sessions studying the destination’s industry landscape, whether that’s supply chain dynamics in Southeast Asia, energy markets in China, or sustainability challenges in East Africa. By the time you board the plane for the 8-10 day international component, you’re already deep into the work.
The competition to participate reflects how valuable students find these experiences. With roughly 33 spots per trip and 120-150 students bidding their elective points, getting selected means something. Recent destinations have included Rwanda, Kenya, Vietnam, Thailand, India, Turkey, Dubai, South Africa, South Korea, Chile, and Argentina. Each trip is designed around a McCombs professor’s expertise and combines firm visits, executive networking, and cultural immersion that you simply can’t replicate in a classroom.
Jacob’s Journey: Finding Adventure in Italy
For Jacob Martinez, the Italy Global Connections trip was about stepping into the unknown. As someone who loves fashion and coffee, Italy seemed like the obvious choice. But what he got was far more than he expected.
“I was able to experience Italy in a way that I would not have been able to otherwise,” Jacob says. The structured itinerary gave him access to companies and cultural experiences that most tourists never see. But the real value came from something less tangible: the relationships he built with his classmates.
“The best part of my experience was forming closer friendships with my fellow classmates. Traveling really is a bonding experience,” he explains. There’s something about navigating a foreign country together, solving problems on the fly, and sharing meals in unfamiliar places that creates bonds that last well beyond the trip.
The most challenging moment came after the official trip ended, when Jacob decided to take his first solo trip to Milan. “I told myself to enjoy the adventure, and it was an amazing experience,” he says. That decision to extend his travels turned into a personal breakthrough. “I was very surprised to learn that I am more adventurous than I thought! I can’t wait to explore more countries.”
Jacob’s takeaway is clear: “Having a global experience during the MBA program is an amazing opportunity. It gives you the chance to learn another culture from a business perspective and then be immersed in that culture in a way that would not otherwise be possible.”
Jordan’s Experience: Rethinking Business in Bali
Jordan Wood’s Bali trip focused on sustainability and entrepreneurship, and it started long before she left Texas. Her team connected with a Balinese company to work on real consulting projects that would improve their business operations. But this wasn’t your typical case study.
“This was more complex than typical coursework because we had to navigate different policies, regulations, and cultural factors. We couldn’t rely on our usual assumptions because we weren’t familiar with the local culture and consumers,” Jordan explains.
Working on these projects forced her team to think differently and collaborate in new ways. “Working on these projects also gave me a chance to collaborate with classmates I might not have gotten to know otherwise. We formed strong relationships that carried through the entire experience.”
Once in Bali, the experience came alive. The group stayed in Ubud and Seminyak, visiting the companies they’d worked with to see operations firsthand. They learned to cook Balinese cuisine with a local family, met ex-pats who had relocated to start businesses, and even experienced a 14-course meal at Chef Will Goldfarb’s Room 4 Dessert (yes, from Netflix’s Chef’s Table). They explored temples, learned about local religions, and gained perspectives that made their business projects suddenly make sense in deeper ways.
“The highlight of this experience was connecting with people,” Jordan says. “Coming from the US, we often assume we have the best approaches to many things. But traveling in Bali showed me different ways of doing business and living life that were often just as good, if not better.”
She was particularly struck by how welcoming everyone was. “I had expected that a country with many different religions might be more formal or reserved, but people were eager to connect and share their experiences with us.”
The biggest lesson? “This trip taught me that travel and connecting with people are the best ways to expand your worldview. It’s not enough to just visit new places. You need to talk to people and learn about their experiences.”
Why It Matters for Your Career
Global Connections isn’t just about adding stamps to your passport. In today’s business environment, understanding how to work across cultures, build relationships with diverse teams, and question your own assumptions isn’t optional. It’s essential.
Students who participate in international experiences typically see career benefits that extend well beyond graduation. They build professional networks that span continents, develop the cultural competency that multinational employers actively seek, and gain real-world problem-solving skills that can’t be taught in a case study.
As Jordan puts it: “Leaders who succeed today are those who can work across cultures, build relationships with different types of people, and stay open to learning from anyone. The Bali Global Connections course gave me international experience, but it also gave me a new way of thinking about business and leadership.”
Your Turn
Global Connections is a part of the McCombs+ Global & Experiential Learning Program. McCombs+ provides many action-based co-curricular and academic initiatives designed to grow influential business leaders.
Whether you’re drawn to exploring energy markets in the Middle East, studying supply chains in Southeast Asia, or understanding sustainability challenges in Africa, there’s a Global Connections trip that matches your interests and career goals. The application process is competitive, but that’s exactly what makes the experience valuable.
As Jacob discovered, you might be more adventurous than you think. As Jordan learned, the best solutions often come from unexpected places. And sometimes, the most valuable learning happens when you’re sharing a meal with new friends halfway around the world.
Ready to see where Global Connections can take you? Start exploring your options and get ready to bid those elective points on an experience that could change how you see business, leadership, and yourself.
