| Students will be carefully prepared during the 2nd year of their programme. Study Year - It is expected that most students will spend one semester in each of the countries where their chosen languages are spoken, and will normally study at a Business School partner. Students who choose to study in only one country will always go through the Business School. Students attending partner Universities/Business Schools will study alongside native students, and take the same examinations and assessments as local students. Erasmus support and funding is currently available for students choosing to study at partner European Universities/Business Schools. Work year - this comprises an internship of at least 33 weeks. If the students chooses to work abroad their placement will be vetted by the Business School Year Abroad Coordinator, the Erasmus partner or AIESEC. The student will normally be expected to arrange a placement through our Erasmus partner. This has been the practice on the the BCom with language, where students have successfully worked in placements found by Wuppertal and Clermont Ferrand. An example of how placement is organised and managed at Wuppertal is detailed below. Wuppertal provides a number of placements, and students are matched according to their interests and experience. Examples of these placement companies are: ConPAIR AG; Translink Corporate Finance; Nationalbank AG; HSBC Trinkaus und Burkhardt; ECB Frankfurt; Europäisches Institut für Internationale Wirtschaftsbeziehungen. The average salary for these placements is currently around 400 Euros per month. Each placement has an academic coordinator who monitors the progress of the student and is in regular contact with the employer. Students are also visited by Birmingham tutors as part of the normal Erasmus arrangements, and these visits are paid for from the Business School's Socrates budget. This LI 120 credit module provides an opportunity to: improve the student's understanding of different approaches to business management; to live in a different society and culture; and to develop foreign language proficiency. The aim is to highlight differences in culture, business practice and socio-political-economic factors impacting on business. Students do need to be flexible about the location of their year abroad module, as it may not be possible to guarantee individual's first choice. The Birmingham Business School has experienced members of staff organising and supporting the Year Abroad Module, and will make every effort to assist students with special needs in relation to their module overseas. In order to do this it is essential that students make these needs known to Birmingham staff well in advance of the year overseas. | 
