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Expanding Experiential Learning Opportunities to Alumni for the 

Development of Job-Search Skills: 

A Case in a Peruvian University 

Mariella Olivos Rossini & Stella Tippin de Malpica 
 

Universidad ESAN, Lima, Peru 
 

Abstract 
 

At Universidad ESAN in Lima, Peru, a blended workshop using 
videoconferencing technology, online forums and minimal local class 
discussions was carried out through the Global Partners in Education (GPE) 
network from August to November 2017. The workshop was voluntary and 
facilitated interaction between Peruvian students and students from the US, 
Mexico, and China over the course of three modules. The participants from 
Peru were a heterogeneous group consisting of undergraduates and recent 
graduates, some pre-professional participants and some who were already 
working. Upon completion of each module, they were surveyed regarding 
their perspectives on this international virtual experience and how it could 
positively impact their professional lives. The students' diverse perspectives 
shed light on the ways in which intercultural interaction via information and 
communications technology (ICT) can be used to increase participants’ 
future professional success due to the principles of acquiring new skills and 
improving employability.    

 
Introduction 

 
Educators and organizational leaders at institutions of higher education are concerned 
with the professional profile of their graduates and how well it matches the skills that 
companies and organizations are currently demanding in the labor market, as this has 
important implications for graduates’ employability. However, in order to make sure 
students acquire these employability skills at the highest levels possible, it must be taken 
into account what pedagogical methodologies and learning experiences should be 
employed and at what point they should be offered to students. 
 
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has stressed that 
higher education should do more to emphasize student engagement in interdisciplinary 
activities and immersive interactive real-time learning experiences (Linkyou, 2017). The 
aim of these activities, according to the OECD, is to support students’ learning of 
communication in an intercultural context and to prepare them for the requirements of the 
current globalized job market.      
 

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This exploratory case study discusses the results of a voluntary intercultural skills 
workshop in which both undergraduate students and recent alumni, some already working 
and some not, participated in videoconferencing sessions with students from universities 
in three other countries. First, the situational and institutional context is explained, 
followed by a review of the relevant literature. Next, the results of a post-module workshop 
survey are analyzed for relevant and applicable findings. These findings are then 
discussed and connected to a broader context, and recommendations for future 
educational application are provided. 
 

Case Context 
 
Ever since 2009, Universidad ESAN in Lima, Peru has been a part of the Global Partners 
in Education (GPE) network. GPE is an organization that includes around 45 member 
universities from 25 nations around the world (Global Partners in Education, n.d.; Global 
Partners in Education, 2018). These universities participate in the Global Understanding 
(GU) Program, in which students participate in a semester-long course in which they 
videoconference with students from other nations about cultural differences so that, 
according to the GPE website, they can “develop intercultural communication skills, learn 
to value others’ perspectives and acquire strategies for effectively working together to 
complete projects” (Global Partners in Education, n.d.). 
 
A typical GU semester consists of three videoconferencing “links” with three different 
partner universities. Each link typically lasts three to four weeks, during which students 
discuss various aspects of their respective cultures: university life, family and cultural 
traditions, the meaning of life and religion, and stereotypes and prejudice (Global Partners 
in Education, n.d.; Global Partners in Education, 2017). A link culminates with the 
presentation of collaborative projects carried out in student groups with members from 
both universities. In the weeks that the GU class is not linking with another university, 
there are discussions about theoretical frameworks related to intercultural communication 
and interaction, international business, and the culture of the university’s home country. 
 
By August of 2017, ESAN had been participating in the GPE program for eight years, and 
it was decided that the GU experience, called “Global Environment for Business” at 
ESAN, should be offered on an experimental basis to recent alumni as well as traditional 
undergraduates. With this end, the Monday-Wednesday evening section of Global 
Environment for Business was opened as a voluntary workshop instead of a traditional 
course. The workshop consisted of three “modules,” which corresponded exactly to the 
three scheduled GU links. In other words, workshop participants did not take part in local, 
theory-based class sessions between the three links; they only participated in the 
scheduled videoconferencing sessions and worked with their international partners on 
their collaborative projects, along with fulfilling other minimal academic requirements: 
reading support articles about the country of the partner university, posting in online 
forums regarding lessons learned, and writing a short reflection paper after the link had 
concluded. In addition, participants could choose only one, two, or all three of the modules 
offered. The workshop was offered to both current undergraduate students and recent 
graduates of ESAN’s undergraduate and graduate programs. 

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One of the interesting aspects of the heterogeneous population of this study is that it 
offered the opportunity to glean insights into the ways that recent graduates and working 
professionals can learn employability skills from the intercultural interactions facilitated 
through information and communications technology (ICT). It also allowed for a 
comparison of the impressions of both employed and non-employed recent graduates 
with those of undergraduate students. 
 

Review of the Literature 
 
In the current global economy, it is critical for recent graduates entering the job market to 
possess basic employability skills, abilities that employers deem necessary for them to 
operate as successful professionals. “Employability” is defined by Jeswani (2016) as 
“being ready to work” and includes knowledge, attitudes, and business skills to meet 
organizational goals (p. 8). According to the American Society for Training and 
Development (ASTD), there are 16 basic employability skills that can be divided into six 
basic categories: Basic Competency Skills (reading, writing, and computation), 
Communication Skills (speaking and listening), Adaptability Skills (problem-solving, 
creative thinking), Developmental Skills (self-esteem, motivation and goal-setting, and 
career planning), Group Effectiveness Skills (interpersonal skills, teamwork, and 
negotiation skills), and Influencing Skills (understanding of organizational culture and the 
ability to share leadership) (Carnevale, Gainer & Meltzer, 1990). 
 
However, according to Rosenberg, Heimler, & Morote (2012), recent graduates, university 
faculty, and company recruiters do not always see eye to eye about which of these basic 
skills are most important or what skill level recent graduates have actually obtained in 
their time studying at institutions of higher education. Indeed, it could be said that there 
is a lack of clear communication of expectations and perceptions between graduates, 
companies, and educational institutions. 
 
The US Department of Labor, together with the Secretary’s Commission on Achieving 
Necessary Skills (SCANS), carried out research regarding the basic skills required for 
workers to help US industries to be competitive and reported in 1991 that “students 
believed that employment skills were learned on the job, through participation in 
extracurricular activities or simply by osmosis” (p. 9); according to the results of the 2005 
edition of the study, inadequacies regarding employability skills were related to work ethic 
and accounted for negative business performance. 
 
Additionally, the 2009 Job Outlook report from the US National Association of Colleges 
and Employers stated that employers consider communication skills to be the most 
important asset for employability and, at the same time, the one which recent university 
graduates in the United States lacked the most. It was proven by a recent study into 
supply and demand for higher-level skills conducted by Universities UK (2015) to be an 
international phenomenon, not just a North American one. It was claimed that “most 
employer surveys indicate a demand for technical and job-specific skills while also 
demanding a wide array of general employability skills, such as communication team work 

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and commercial awareness, entrepreneurial and data analysis skills.” It can definitely be 
said, as Rosenberg, Heimler, & Morote put it, "The need for additional training of recent 
graduates appears to be a major concern" (2012, p. 15). 
 
 

Research Method 
 
The population of participants in the Global Environment for Business workshop at ESAN 
included current undergraduates who were not employed yet (NEU), one employed 
undergraduate (EU), recent alumni who were not employed (NEA), and recent alumni 
who were employed (EA). The result was a heterogeneous mix of perspectives and life 
experiences through which the videoconferencing experience was filtered. 
 
Four EA, two NEA, and three NEU took part in the module on the United States. Two NEA 
and two NEU took part in the module on Mexico. Two EA, four NEU, and one EU took 
part in the module on China. 
 
After each link, a survey was conducted in order to assess the perceived effect of the 
workshop on the participants’ employability skills (see Appendix 1). The survey consisted 
of questions regarding both the content of the workshop and the technology used in the 
workshop. Once the results from all three modules were collected, qualitative content 
analysis was used to identify the major themes the students identified regarding the 
usefulness of the workshop experience. 
 

Results 
 
One of the most noteworthy results highlighted in the surveys was the recognition of the 
usefulness of the workshops in increasing employability skills by the alumni and employed 
undergraduates. As one EA who participated in the China module explained, 
“Understanding a different culture can help us in new business activities as well as in 
making new friends in other countries.” One NEA said of the United States module, “In 
the case of careers, it is essential to take cultural awareness courses. In all the jobs that 
I have had in English, it was very important to know how to interact with foreigners. In 
marketing we work with all types of people so learning their customs and how to relate to 
them seems to me the most interesting part of the course.” 
 
In contrast, NEA mentioned occasionally that the workshop would help them 
professionally in the future, but they put much more emphasis on the social benefits and 
the increase in general knowledge that the workshop offered. One NEU who participated 
in the Mexico module stated, “[The workshop] helped me a lot, ‘cause [sic] I think I have 
learned about another Latin America country and realized that even though we are from 
the same continent we do have some differences in different terms, such as traditions, 
habits, etc.” 
 
More specifically, the results of the survey show that there were five general ways in which 
participants identified that the workshop would help them grow professionally. First of all, 

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four participants, all of whom were either employed and/or graduated, mentioned that it 
had helped them learn how to manage intercultural or international business relationships 
better. One NEA said of the US module, “I learned how to handle different people from 
around the world.” Similarly, an EA who participated in the US module said, “The 
importance of the workshop is to understand the difference between American society 
and Peruvian [society], in order to manage relations. In my professional life I work in 
international banks.” 
 
Another benefit that some participants mentioned was that the workshop would improve 
their intercultural communication skills at work. One EA who participated in the US module 
stated, “Understanding the culture helps me to know new ways of communicating with 
people from the USA. At the moment, I work with the USA [sic] office, and now I can 
understand more insights that are a difficult matter at work.” In the same vein, a NEA and 
a NEU (both in the US module) said the workshop specifically helped them to know how 
to negotiate better with foreigners and that this could help them professionally in the 
future. 
 
Yet another way several participants said the workshop had improved their professional 
outlook was by giving them an opportunity to practice their English language skills. Peru 
is a Spanish-speaking country, and some Peruvians might not have many opportunities 
to practice English beyond educational settings. One EA commented on the China 
module, “I believe this workshop helped me to develop my skills to not only practice 
English but also learn how to communicate with foreign students, with different cultures, 
schedules and thoughts.” 

 
Next, one EA who was applying to masters degree programs stated that her participated 
in the workshop would help her present herself to others as a more capable professional 
due to the credentials the workshop gave her: “[I can adapt] a great workshop to my CV 
… [this] says that I was interested in other countries and perspectives [and] would look 
good on my job application [and applications] for my postgraduate [studies,] and the best 
part [is that] I can take some parts [of the workshop experience] for my thesis work.” In a 
similar but much more general way, a NEU who participated in the Mexico module 
identified a way in which the workshop helped her identify more professional opportunities 
for herself: “[Mexico and Peru] are very similar, particularly in culture and values. I think 
that I wouldn't have problems if I worked there.” 
 
Furthermore, a few participants identified that the workshop would help them 
professionally but in general terms of “sharing culture” and “increasing intercultural 
understanding.” For example, a NEA who participated in the US module said of the 
workshop, “I consider that it taught me to have a more open idea about the intercultural 
context in the USA. The developed skills such as sharing of ideas and getting to know 
another culture [will allow] me to develop a more successful professional life.” The only 
EU who participated in the workshop, specifically the China module, stated, “This 
workshop was very important for me, both for my job and for my university degree 
program, since although I already had knowledge gained while working in China for six 
years, the workshop served to help me understand the culture of this country more in 

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depth, to understand other aspects than those I already knew, which will serve me in my 
professional life.” Although the observations about how the workshop will help the 
participants professionally are general, they are grounded in careful thought and focus on 
its value for their future professional life. 
 
One final pattern worth mentioning is that every single one of the participants surveyed in 
all three modules stated that they would recommend this workshop to friends because 
they found it interesting and useful. One EA who participated in the US module even went 
so far as to say, “Honestly, I believe it is an excellent idea to offer [this workshop] to 
graduate[d] students because we have been studying for so long, but this shows us how 
[intercultural communication] actually is at work. You learn more specific stuff about your 
career and what you are specifically doing at the moment.” 
 

Discussion 
 
Indeed, the participants of the Global Environment for Business workshop were able to 
identify key ways in which the intercultural interactive experience mediated by ICT was 
useful to them. More specifically, alumni and employed participants were much more 
mindful of the ways the workshop would help professionally, perhaps due to the fact that 
they were more focused on the practical applications of the intercultural experience as 
opposed to the social and theoretical aspects. As alumni are more aware of the skills they 
need to learn in order to advance professionally, these findings line up with Rosenberg, 
Heimler, & Morote (2012) in their emphasis on the need for recent graduates to reconcile 
their lack of employability skills with the requirements of the labor market. It also 
corroborates the findings of Olivos (2016), who states that videoconferencing or 
synchronous interaction through international, interactive sessions conducted by expert 
faculty provides intercultural knowledge acquisition in students and also facilitates the 
development of social values, cultural values, and the appreciation of diverse cultures. 
 
Regarding the skills that the participants believed the workshop experience would help 
them develop, one of the most prominent was the ability to effectively manage intercultural 
business relations. According to the ASTD categorization of employability skills, it would 
fall under the category of “Group Effectiveness Skills” (Carnevale, Gainer, & Metzler, 
1990). The fact that so many participants mentioned it as an important skill they learned 
from the workshop resonates with the recommendations of Boni & Calabuig (2017), who 
say that universities should provide both formal and informal spaces to promote global 
citizenship and group work within the university community. 
 
The second important skill the workshop increased, according to participants, was 
intercultural workplace communication skills, including the ability to negotiate, as 
negotiation styles are culturally dependent (Weiss & Stripp, 1998). The third aspect the 
participants identified as improved was their English language abilities. Both of these 
skills would fall under the category of “Communication Skills” in the ASTD categorization 
(Carnevale, Gainer, & Metzler, 1990). As the National Association of Colleges and 
Employers (2009) point out, this category of employability skills is ironically the most 
necessary and the most lacking in recent graduates, and, therefore, it is one of the 

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categories of employability skills that most needs to be reinforced among recent university 
graduates by experiences like this Global Environment for Business workshop. 
 
The fourth aspect reported to be beneficial them was the increased professional 
credentials the experience provided, which could be categorized under Developmental 
Skills in the ASTD categorization (Carnevale, Gainer, & Metzler, 1990). The fifth value of 
the experience was increasing their overall cultural knowledge for business. It is worth 
mentioning that cross-cultural competencies are skills highlighted by Adler and 
Bartholomew (1992). 
 
Finally, it is important to highlight that all the participants unanimously stated that they 
would recommend the workshop, with its brief theoretical overview, its videoconferencing, 
and its international collaborative projects, to their peers. This indicates, in addition to 
being beneficial for the undergraduates to whom the normal Global Environment for 
Business course is usually offered for academic credit, that such an experimental kind of 
informal experience could still be quite valuable to those who are no longer studying 
toward a traditional undergraduate degree (such as graduate students and working 
professionals) and that it could help fill in the gap in recent graduates’ employability skills 
that many researchers indicate needs to be filled (Rosenberg, Heimler, & Morote, 2012; 
US Department of Labor, 1991; US National Association of Colleges & Employers, 2009; 
Universities UK, 2015). 
 

Conclusions 
 
In conclusion, it can be said that universities can provide students and alumni with 
internationally-focused academic activities through the use of ICT in order to promote the 
acquisition of employability skills, especially skills related to communication and 
intercultural competence. A virtual workshop such as the one described is an example of 
the way this can be done, and it results in the acquisition of a set of skills related to 
communications, teamwork, cultural awareness and experiential learning opportunities. 
In turn, these skills could help students and, notably, alumni improve their employability. 
 
An especially important finding of the current study is that recent graduates might benefit 
more readily from such experiences than current undergraduates as recent graduates are 
probably becoming aware of the gaps in their employability skills and are more likely to 
be actively looking to fill the gaps. As such, it is the tentative recommendation of this study 
for universities to offer more interactive, intercultural experiences like the Global 
Environment for Business workshop to recent graduates of their academic programs. 
 
  

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employers want. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1990. 
 
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Appendix 1 

 
Global Environment for Business Post-Module Survey 
 
1. Please mark the appropriate option: I am a ____student  ____graduate. 
    Are you currently working? ___Yes  ___No 
2. About the content of the workshop: please explain how you think what you have 
learned can positively impact your professional life. 
3. About the methodology and the use of the technology in the workshop: 
Do you feel comfortable with communicating via the different media? ___Yes ___No 
Which one is your preferred medium for the workshop? 
___VC   ___Social Media  ___Chat  ___Forum 
Comment on your choice. 
4. Would you recommend this workshop for others? Why or why not? 
 
 

 
Mariella Olivos Rossini is Professor of Intercultural Management and International 
Business and Associate Director of the Undergraduate Programs at Universidad ESAN 
in Lima, Peru. In addition, she is a Board Member of the Global Partners in Education 
Journal and Executive Coordinator at CLADEA (The Latin American Council of 
Management Schools). She holds a PhD from Universiteit van Tilburg in the Netherlands, 
an MS in Economics from Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina in Peru, an MBA from 
Université du Quebec in Canada, and a BS in Economics from Pontificia Universidad 
Católica del Perú in Peru. Email: molivos@esan.edu.pe 
 
Stella Tippin de Malpica teaches courses in Intercultural Management, Organizational 
Psychology, and English at Universidad ESAN in Lima, Peru. She holds an MA in Latin 
American Studies with a specialization in Andean Studies from University of Florida in the 
United States and a BA in Spanish and Communication with concentrations in cross-
cultural communication and professional writing from Spring Arbor University in the United 
States. Email: stippin@esan.edu.pe 
 

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