NEWS INDEX Archives 2004 October

Forum to show students who speak French what business opportunities await

Andrea Lynn, Humanities Editor
217-333-2177; andreal@uiuc.edu

10/18/04

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The 2004 French Means Business Forum will be held Oct. 28 (Thursday) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

During the ninth annual forum, government officials and company executives doing business with French speakers will be on campus to help students discover where their knowledge of French can take them in the business world.

According to Doug Kibbee, a professor in the French department and one of the forum co-organizers, students attending the event will be able to meet company executives; learn about internships and careers with major companies and explore those opportunities; pass along their résumés; and consult the French department’s job file.

Kibbee said that tips for entering the job market also will be shared, as will cross-cultural business communication and practices, lessons learned during overseas assignments and study-abroad opportunities.

Sessions for the free and public event, which is targeted to high school and college students and teachers, will run from 10 a.m. to noon, and from 2 to 4 p.m. in Room 314 A and B in the Illini Union, 1401 W. Green St., Urbana.

Speakers, who will give 15-minute presentations and distribute free company promotional materials, include:

Anna De Vries, investment adviser, Invest in France Agency; Rebecca Houghtaling, Peace Corps, Urban and Regional Planning, U. of I.; Ian B. Keil, assistant director, Study Abroad Office, U. of I.; David Klein, senior vice president, RBC Dain Rauscher Inc.; Bryan Lammers, technical manager, Caterpillar Inc.; Timothy Rogus, attaché for public affairs, Quebec Delegation, Chicago; Robert Shears, vice president of computer operations, Maytag International Inc.; Clifford Singer, director of the Program in Arms Control, Disarmament and International Security, U. of I.; Fiona Spence, intercultural services, Cendant Mobility; and Stephanie Veit, supervisor of the ambassadorial scholarships program at Rotary International.

Kibbee said that many groups of high school students and teachers plan to attend, as do French majors from universities that don’t offer such a program – including DePaul University, Illinois State University and the University of Missouri at St. Louis.

For more information about the forum, contact Kibbee or Karen Fresco, the other co-organizer, or call the French department at 217-333-2020.