Three MBA students returned from summer consulting projects abroad where they worked in foreign markets for U.S. companies including Boeing, Koch Industries and Tramco. The trips were part of a new Global Business Project (GBP) and International Business graduate course offered by KU. Participants and their destination countries were Veronica Ayala (Brazil), Brian Mellor (China) and Peter Tosco (Japan).
“A lot of international programs are theory-based, but the GBP program gave us the opportunity to not just experience the culture, but to do actual work for a real company in another country,” said Brian Mellor, a joint MBA/MA student in East Asian Languages and Cultures. “It was real international work experience, not just an opportunity for study.”
Developed by a consortium of Centers for International Business Education & Research (CIBER), the Global Business Project seeks to provide an avenue for MBA and graduate students to increase their global business and language competency through guided, hands-on, business experience in global markets.
The students departed for their respective countries at the end of May after attending a meeting in Washington D.C. and forming student-led teams for each project. KU CIBER director Melissa Birch led the teams in Brazil along with assistance from School of Business professors Chris Anderson, Kissan Joseph and Jim Morrison.
Other schools leading teams and participating this year were the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Temple University, Duke University, George Washington University, University of Maryland and the University of Pittsburgh.
“The GBP provides KU MBAs with an outstanding opportunity to participate in consulting projects along with students from other top MBA programs,” said Chuck Krider, KU MBA Academic Director. “They have an opportunity to apply what they have been learning in the classroom to actual international business issues faced by companies in international markets.”
The KU CIBER is one of only 31 CIBERS in the United States. The primary goal of these centers, funded through matching grants issued by the U.S. Department of Education, is to improve American competitiveness through comprehensive service and educational programs in academic and corporate settings.
