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The Emerald Isle Circuit
Illustration of a shield with circuits coming out of it

Exploring IS 360: Management of Global IT

Tech Trek

Students in Loyola’s Management of Global Information Technology course study what led multinational corporations to base their overseas businesses within a specific location.

Students attend a series of classes during the regular semester before embarking on an international immersion trip, called Tech Trek, to meet with company executives and to tour company facilities. Tech Trek is designed to expose students to the challenges of establishing a successful and globally competitive IT industry.

Students in a building, looking out the window and at a pool table with the Google logo Students posing for a picture in front of a castle in Ireland
Students walking along the edge of a grassy cliff in Ireland Tightly cropped shot of people in dress shoes standing on an ancestry.com welcome mat Students and professors wearing blue cleanroom suits and posing for a group photo

Tech Trek Students Explore

  • Historical, economic, political, labor, and social factors involved in managing IT in a global environment
  • Why multinational corporations have based overseas activities in certain countries—and why certain countries emerge as global centers of excellence in this field
  • How taxation policies allow companies to reduce their tax liability
  • The role various governments play in attracting foreign investment
  • The complexities of managing information technology around the globe

Paul Tallon, Ph.D., professor of information systems, teaches the course and leads Tech Trek. In the past, groups have traveled to Northern California and Silicon Valley, where they visited the Google offices and met with engineers from Australia and London and other executives.

IT companies are working flat out to hire people, and Loyola students are exactly the ones they want to target.

Since 2016, Dr. Tallon has led groups to his native Ireland, where students met with leading tech companies based in Dublin and Cork.

Illustration of orange circuits
What’s on the Circuit?

Companies Students Have 樱花动漫ed

A collection of tech company names - including Google, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Apple, and more - illustrated to look like a circuit board

Throughout the trip, Tech Trek students enjoy the local culture and history through visits to Blarney Castle, the Cobh Heritage Center, the Cobh Titanic Experience, the Jameson Distillery, the Guinness Storehouse, and Dublin Castle.

Three students sitting on top of a grassy and rocky hill in Ireland A student takes a selfie with other students and a castle in the background A student smiling through a hole in a large rock statue
Illustration of orange circuits

Course Components

Tech Trek is a cornerstone of this 300-level information systems elective, during which students can expect to…

Take Pre- and Post-Travel Classes

Students meet four times before the trip and once after. They become familiar with the key themes pertaining to the globalization of information technology, and study the companies they’ll be visiting during the trip.

Research Companies in Depth

Students will work in teams of two to study a company in depth. Each student will be an expert on one of the companies and will present findings to the rest of the class before the site visits.

Make Connections with Alumni

Whenever possible, Dr. Tallon arranges alumni events with Loyola graduates living in Ireland. They walk students through the process of moving and working abroad in IT and share their experiences since graduation.

Demonstrate Breadth of Understanding

Students record notes and observations from each site they visit during Tech Trek, detailing the most important insights and takeaways. The log serves to demonstrate how much students’ understanding grows throughout the experience. Students are often tasked with documenting the trip through photos, while Dr. Tallon shares the group’s experiences on his .

It was incredible to hear from leaders of such large, multinational corporations and actually tour the companies. I gained so much insight into the technology industry, global operations of tech companies, and the cultural differences of the workplace in another country.
Students sitting around a large table in a Microsoft conference room A Plato bust statue in a library Students walking down a busy sidewalk in a city in Ireland
Students receiving a tour in a large technology production facility Students sitting in chairs on a bus smiling for the camera
Stacked barrels Two students smiling in front of a cathedral The back of a student, looking off the edge of a cliff at the ocean

Learn more about Loyola’s Tech Trek