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Centers for International Business Education and Research

Experiential Learning

Creating innovative programs that bridge the gap between theory and practice is the foundation of the CIBER mission. Experiential learning allows students to apply their knowledge and conceptual understanding to real-world problems while building on the language, cultural and functional business skills learned in the classroom. Click on a photo below to see an experiential learning project!
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University of Colorado Denver CIBER

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Georgia State University CIBER

George Washington University

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Michigan State University CIBER

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Texas A&M University CIBER

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San Diego State University CIBER

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Temple University CIBER

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University of Maryland CIBER

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University of South Carolina CIBER

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University of South Carolina CIBER

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INTERNATIONAL MARKETPLACE IMMERSION:  International MBA (IMBA)

A unique opportunity to become a multinational leader through a dynamic learning process: Language Immersion, Globalization and the International Context of Business, and Corporate Internship

Language Immersion: The International Marketplace Immersion begins with language immersion in country. Each student participates in an intensive language-training program in partnership with an in-country institution. Through this program, students increase their language fluency to a level sufficient to participate in business and social conversations. In addition to classroom work, students are given assignments to practice the language and immerse themselves in the life and culture of the city and country where they are studying.

Globalization and the International Context of Business:  An extended course taken while in-country completing the International Marketplace Immersion, gives students an understanding and appreciation of the unique market dynamics that provide the context that must be considered when making business decisions in their international region.  Students are given frequent assignments that put their language skills to work and help them learn to fit into the market around them. The assignments during their language immersion help students develop an understanding of the region and prepare them for their corporate internship and strategic consulting project.  Contextual Intelligence assignments continue during the internship and consulting project to provide both a process for learning and support for an enhanced experience. Students not only work day-to-day for their companies, but also learn how to be more effective working within the business dynamics of that particular region.

Corporate Internship:  A central part of the IMBA program is an internship with an international company in the region of a student’s language training. Students build on core classes and language training by working in country– gaining real-world work experience that adds value to job placement and career development. International students may choose to pursue an internship with a multinational company in the United States instead of a different international location.

University of Maryland CIBER

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Student interns in Dubai

MARYLAND STUDENTS MAKE IMPACT THROUGH CONSULTING PROGRAMS

From China to Rwanda and numerous places in between, students at the University of Maryland apply their classroom learning in real-world settings to provide valuable feedback to companies seeking to develop their global reach. Through experiential learning programs such as consulting projects offered by the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) at the University of Maryland, undergraduate and graduate students from across the university and throughout the state came together in spring 2017 to consult for local and international businesses. These projects gave businesses the opportunity to leverage top business school talent to address international business challenges through the programs below:

MBA Global Consulting Program

Four MBA students at the Robert H. Smith School of Business worked with USPET, an American-Chinese company, to create an e-commerce platform for Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises seeking to enter the U.S. market to sell goods and services online. The students travelled with David Ashley, a Smith School faculty member in the marketing department, to review USPET’s current online presence and provide recommendations on website re-design, assess service providers, and conduct a cost/benefit analysis of their suggested re-design.

MBA International Development Consulting

In partnership with the UMD School of Public Health and UMD at Baltimore School of Law, two Smith School MBAs worked with five students from the aforementioned schools to produce recommendations for a business model, corporate governance structure, and water quality monitoring process to address challenges for an off grid community for the Arava Environmental Institute in Israel in January 2017.

MBA Maryland Global Export Consulting Program

A team of four Smith School MBA students conducted in-country research in Rwanda as part of the Maryland Global Export Consulting Program. The purpose of the research was to evaluate the financial viability and ROI of solar home designs vs. solar water heating vs. solar farms. The group analyzed the ease of working with the Rwandan government to pursue energy initiatives, financing options available for energy products, and commercial vs. residential uses of energy.

The overall project took six months and the MBA students working on the project came with varying backgrounds and levels of experience. “One of the biggest benefits of the project was not just having a short, seven-week class with someone, but having a six-month interaction with them to solve a problem,” said Andrew Joliet, a part-time MBA student at the Smith School. Joliet viewed the experience as valuable since he could get consulting experience even with a full-time job: “You’re working with a real client who has a real problem and you’re coming up with a real solution to that problem.”

Undergraduate Maryland Global Export Consulting Program

Also, through the Maryland Global Export Consulting Program, 12 undergraduate students worked in two teams to conduct a detailed market analysis of the aviation landscape in Morocco and Mexico for a Maryland-based pilot training company looking to increase their international trainee program. The team conducted a site visit at Trident in Easton, Md., to assess the potential for the company to expand to international markets and provided potential solutions at the conclusion of the program.

Colin Fischer, special programs manager and pilot at Trident Aircraft, said that his company understands airplanes really well, but they wanted assistance on the business-side in order to get into international markets. “This is where the Smith School really came in because these are students who understand how to go about that and they have a good understanding of the global economy,” said Fischer. “By leveraging that, we’re very pleased with the result.”

Additionally, through the same program, five undergraduates provided export consulting for Konsyl Pharmaceuticals, a Maryland-based company seeking to develop their global strategy. Kim Vaccari, sales operations manager at Konsyl, gave an update at the conclusion of the project: “We’ll use the recommendations from the students in expanding our sales abroad and of course, as a manufacturing company, that would have an immediate impact on the manufacturing business. We would likely need to hire new staff, possibly expand our facilities – not just production staff but in quality assurance, our lab staff, sales and marketing staff – and throughout the company there would be an impact. Of course, more sales for us would mean more income for the state of Maryland.”

Teams visited company headquarters that spring to understand the processes of each company and final presentations for all four projects were presented to respective clients in May. 

To find out more about the Maryland Global Export Consulting Program and other consulting projects available for students through CIBER, visit www.rhsmith.umd.edu/ciber.

Temple University CIBER

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In March of 2016, as part of their annual Global Immersion Experience (GIE), 22 Global MBA students from Temple University’s Fox School of Business, along with students from Al Akhawayn University, co-hosted the second annual conference on Entrepreneurial Innovation in Casablanca, Morocco: Opportunities and Challenges. The content was built upon the previous year’s theme of “Unlocking the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Morocco: Lessons for a Pan-African Model”.

Organized by Temple CIBER, the full day conference featured prominent speakers from the Moroccan Ministry of Technology and Innovation, the Director General of Microsoft, as well as several local entrepreneurs. Approximately 170 attendees had an opportunity to learn about the landscape of innovation in Morocco and hear firsthand stories from successful Moroccan innovators, including the founders of iTaxi and Screendy. The conference received national press and was featured in Le Matin, a Moroccan daily newspaper and a segment aired on Moroccan television channel 2M Monde TV. 

Regarding the development of the conference, Fox School Deputy Dean Dr. Rajan Chandran noted: “With the rise of emerging markets, and the world moving south and east, it is critical to revisit our assumptions and values beyond what works and what does not, and what business is about and what it is not about. We at Fox believe that, in order to develop the next generation of global leaders, we need to learn from the innovative models that are being seeded in emerging markets.”

San Diego State University CIBER

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In collaboration with the Berlin School of Economics and Law, SDSU CIBER created a joint program to provide business students with an international experience combined with project-based learning. The Transatlantic Business Seminar is designed for teams comprised of students from both SDSU and BSEL; the teams work virtually on a project throughout the semester.

SDSU students travel to Berlin for one week to conduct research, attend
company visits and academic lectures and enjoy cultural activities with their teammates. BSEL students travel to San Diego for one week before teams present their project findings on the final day of the program.

Texas A&M University CIBER

A team of four students from Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School took third place at the inaugural BI International Case Competition 2016 on February 18, 2016 in Oslo, Norway. The Mays team was the only one invited from the United States.

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Competing against 11 other teams from around the world, Andrew Winker ’16 (PPA & Business Honors), Layeeka Ismail ’16 (PPA & Business Honors), Hope Miller ’17 (PPA & Business Honors) and Nathan Shaub ’17 (Supply Chain Management & Business Honors) had 32 hours to solve a real-life business case and organize a presentation for a corporate judging panel.

The business case was unveiled Tuesday morning, and the students worked diligently – sequestered –until Wednesday evening, when they had the opportunity to rest. The final presentations were Thursday morning.

The team’s accomplishment was the result of months of preparation by the students, with the help of Mays faculty and staff. Peter Drysdale, director of Undergraduate Programs at Mays, accompanied the students to Oslo. The team practiced multiple cases and received feedback from various faculty members throughout the fall semester and until their departure.  The case competition, in its inaugural year, drew participants from all across the globe. The final lineup included teams from Canada, Europe, Serbia, China and Australia.

Mary Lea McAnally, Phillip Ljungdahl Chaired Professor of Accounting and Interim Director of Innovation and Strategic Planning for Mays Business School, said she was impressed by more than the team’s strong finish. “Perhaps more impressive was their dedication and hard work. Their advance preparation, the travel and the competition itself were so intellectually and emotionally intense that the experience created memories that will stay with them for the rest of their lives,” she said. “I am also grateful for the Mays faculty and staff who came together to support the team as they trained and prepared themselves. As they say: It takes a village!”

Michigan State University CIBER

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Funded in part by the U.S. Department of Education Title VI B grant, globalEDGE delivers a comprehensive research tool for academics, students and businesspeople. Connect with over 47,000 people using the gE Network while tapping into a directory of over 5000 quality resources. globalEDGE provides tools and resources to efficiently research nearly any international business question you may have. For more information click here.

The George Washington University CIBER

Short-term Study Abroad Course for Undergraduate Students

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The Spring 2016 Rwanda STAP group with Ambassador Claver Gatete, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning (under a photo of President Paul Kagame).

This short-term study abroad (STAP) program explored the role of institutions in economic development by examining the case of Rwanda, a landlocked country in Sub-Saharan Africa known for its picturesque terrain as the “Land of a Thousand Hills.” Approximately the size of Maryland, and with more than 12 million people, it is the most densely populated country on the continent of Africa. Of 185 countries in World Bank rankings, Rwanda is also the 16th poorest country in the world with per capita GDP of just $639. The country is known for the genocidal mass slaughter in 1994, the subject of the movie Hotel Rwanda.

The country has made extraordinary progress since the 1994 genocide, and despite enormous post-conflict challenges, its previous per capita GDP was restored by 2005. Without any petroleum or mineral wealth, the economy is dependent on: (1) coffee and tea exports, (2) tourism based on trekking mountain gorillas in the Virunga Mountains, and (3) extensive foreign aid. Although Rwanda remains one of the poorest countries in the world, it has also been one of the most successful economies among developing countries in the last decade due to aggressive institutional reforms. Real growth averaged 7.6% per year from 2005 to 2013 at a time that world growth averaged 2.3%. At the same time, Rwanda’s institutional reforms propelled it from 139 in the World Bank’s Doing Business rankings in 2006 to number 62 in 2016. This course studied the link between institutional reform and growth and development, particularly providing opportunities to explore the relationship between business and government.

Georgia State University CIBER

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Designed and driven by two Robinson College of Business Advisory Board members and GSU CIBER, The PACE program provides advanced undergraduate students completing a variety of majors the opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills of management, finance, accounting, marketing, risk management, strategy, etc., through an experiential project-based course. Interdisciplinary teams of 3-4 undergraduate students work on “consulting projects” defined by “real world clients” sourced from companies and organizations with which the Robinson College of Business has or seeks relationships.

Project types vary and may be on topics such as organizational change management, process analysis, technology implementation, strategy development, operational efficiency enhancement, financial consulting, marketing strategy, etc. PACE students spend the semester working on their assigned project while being mentored by an executive on consulting skills. At the end of the semester, students present recommendations to their business clients in both a written report and verbal presentation. Students leave the program with hands-on experience interviewing clients, creating reports, researching real issues, presenting findings, and working as a team.

University of Colorado Denver CIBER

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Student interns in Dubai
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The University of Colorado Denver CIBER highlights its Pathways to International Internships and Employment (PI2E) program, a collaborative opportunity for Colorado companies to expand their international business footprint, and for students to apply their coursework and developing international business expertise to real-world business opportunities and challenges.  CEOs contract to work with students via formalized, executive-level internships and projects; students are selected through an application process.

Students’ research enhances and guides a company’s critical international business decisions and can include

  • Developing international business functions and/or new international markets
  • Enhancing existing international market presence through competitive analyses, culture, and country-specific product development
  • Identifying specific country and/or region market feasibility
  • Recommending market entry and action plans
  • Analyzing country-specific financial, political, economic, and business risk landscapes.

Participating companies have included Grease Monkey International, Molson Coors International, Solix, Mikron Denver, CQG, and Kaman.  Emerging regions and countries researched include Australia, Japan, China, Latin America, Middle East, South Korea, Philippines, Poland, Singapore, and South Korea.  An option exists for companies to send students to the researched market to conduct secondary studies, such as a group that was sent to Dubai.  Since the program’s 2014 inception, over 15 students have been hired into sponsoring companies as a result of this program.