While also enhancing its European connection, Brock University recently increased its offerings for students looking to earn two degrees for the price of one.

The Goodman School of Business has established a new partnership with Reutlingen University’s ESB Business School in Germany for its Bachelor of Business Administration Co-op International Dual Degree program.

Reutlingen, a German-language public university near Stuttgart, joins EBS Business School, also in Germany, NEOMA Business School in France and Ireland’s DCU Business School as partners in the program, which offers undergraduate students the chance to study and work abroad, and earn degrees from two universities for the price of tuition at Brock.

Brock is the only Canadian university to offer such a program.

“This partnership extends our strengths and differentiates Goodman from other business schools by offering a dual degree that provides students a work opportunity in another country,” said Goodman Dean Andrew Gaudes. “It really is an incredible opportunity for students and we’re thrilled to be able to offer it.”

Students starting the dual degree program in September will be the first cohort to choose Reutlingen as their preferred international university and will attend in their third year of study.

Those who select Reutlingen will first prepare for the experience at Brock.

Reutlingen is in a region of Germany touted as Europe’s leading location for innovation and technology. World-famous companies, including Bosch, Porsche, Daimler and Stihl, have their headquarters there.

Students in the Reutlingen track will experience and understand the study and work culture of one of the largest economies in the world while the international management degree they earn there will provide them with access to tuition-free master’s programs in Germany.

By the time they graduate, students should also be able to navigate the German language, making them attractive to multinational corporations in North America and Europe.

“Reutlingen is well situated because it has fantastic industrial connections, so it will provide really great work opportunities for our students,” said Meredith Heaney, Goodman’s manager of international exchanges and partnerships.

Though the agreement was just signed with Reutlingen, it was years in the making.

Reutlingen is one of Goodman’s 46 partner universities for regular exchanges. It’s currently in the process of receiving accreditation from The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and approached Goodman about a dual degree partnership.

“That’s one thing that’s really important for us. We require our partners to have the same level of accreditation as us,” Heaney said.

The dual degree program fosters a greater connection to the global community, Gaudes noted. “It helps Goodman students understand people with whom we interact and trade around the world while the students from partner universities studying at Brock enrich our communities here at home.”

Studying and working abroad also gets students out of their comfort zones, even when doing everyday activities, like grocery shopping or negotiating cell phone contracts. That builds resilience and independence, preparing them for the challenges they’ll face in their careers, he said.

“Once they navigate one or two of these life experiences, they start building confidence. ‘I can do this. I’m agile and able to navigate these things,’” Gaudes said. “We really do prepare graduates to hit the ground running and feel confident when they enter into their next chapter in life.”