Breakfast Briefing with his Excellency Mohamed Salah Tekaya Ambassador of Tunisia to the United States - February 2012

The breakfast roundtable was an excellent opportunity to meet the Ambassador of Tunisia and hear about the latest development in the country a year after the revolution.  Being a representative of an American company with an established and successful presence in Tunisia, it was reassuring to me and informative to learn about what the newly elected government is implementing in terms of incentives to attract new foreign direct investments and grow existing ones.

- Hatem, Sellami, Ph.D., founder and president, Predictix, Atlanta, GA

International Internships - February 2012

The trip was an amazing experience and has helped me learn more about the European Union and its importance in the world today. Brussels is one of my new favorite cities, and I would love to go back and visit.

- Kelsey, Scantland, senior in the  J. Mack Robinson College of Business at GSU

GSU-CIBER Southeast Consortium Pedagogical Session - September 2011

"I thought the seminar was very worthwhile and the materials are incredible. It was really generous of the GSU-CIBER team to provide so many useful resources."

- Margaret B. Sherman, assistant professor, J. Mack Robinson College of Business

"The workshop was an excellent introduction to the resources and teaching content and techniques for developing or supplementing an existing international business course. The instructors, Drs. Cavusgil and Boers, were very engaging, supportive and knowledgeable.  I took away many great resources and have used several of them in one of my courses already! Great workshop! You can count me in for the next one, too!"

- Sally Humphries, professor of Information Systems and Communications, Georgia College & State University

Visiting Scholar - September 2011

"Being a visiting scholar at GSU- CIBER has been an enriching experience so far. Under the leadership of Dr. S. Tamer Cavusgil, I have had the opportunity to help develop the GSU-CIBER Middle Class Score Card and be a part of the organizing committee for CIMaR 2011, while fully immersing myself into the American culture. GSU-CIBER has helped me move forward in both my education and career goals. I would like to thank Dr. Cavusgil for giving me this wonderful opportunity to work with such a great team."

- Dr. Ilke Kardes, a visiting scholar at GSU-CIBER

GSU Student returns from a foreign internship - September 2011

Alex St. Urbain, a leader of the AIESEC GSU chapter, just returned from an exchange internship abroad in Gebze, Turkey, where he worked for the marketing department of Polin Water Parks. "I went on an internship to learn about doing business in a different legal, economic and cultural environment. During this internship, I enjoyed working with Turkish people creating press releases and updating catalogue content. Ultimately I assisted the company in its endeavors to enter new markets. This program has helped me gain a highly valuable experience for my career."

- Alex St. Urbain, AIESEC GSU chapter

“Developing a Study Abroad Program 101” - August 12, 2011

“Thank you and the entire team of organizers and presenters for sharing so much valuable information on study abroad programming. The broad range of programs, disciplines and experiences combined covered just about every angle of study abroad programs in an enjoyable one-day session.”

- Susan Caolo, J. Mack Robinson College of Business

"Media, Journalism, and Business in a Global World" Study Abroad Program - May 2011

"This program has helped me significantly strengthen my professional skills from building confidence in my ability as journalist to learning how to effectively communicate with people from different backgrounds. Ultimately, I learned the importance of networking, how building relationships is the foundation for success in business."

- Patricia Campbell, BBA, J. Mack Robinson College of Business

“Media, Journalism, and Business in a Global World Study Abroad Program to Istanbul, Turkey has been a once in a lifetime experience that has made me realize the significance of strengthening my global skills to ultimately make myself more competitive in the globalized economy. Getting to visit Coca Cola Eurasia and Africa, Turkcell, and other organizations as well as being able to interview Executives at leading companies in telecommunications are only a few examples of having first-hand witnessed the strong relationship between journalism and business. This trip has significantly helped me improve my communication and networking skills, reinforce my career goals, open up my worldview to an unlimited realm of possibilities, and has given me a deep appreciation for the Turkish culture. I would recommend this amazing program to any person who is interested in understanding the role that journalism plays in international business and economy as well as the experience of a truly beautiful country.”

-Lauren Towers, BBA Journalism, J. Mack Robinson College of Business

Grant Writing Workshop - 5/6/2011

“Thank you for doing this workshop because I learned so much about grant writing! Not only did I learn what to do, but I also learned what not to do (which is equally as important). Grant funding is something I plan to apply for in the near future. Having my personal notes and the CD you provided will help me tremendously to achieve this goal.”

- Mrs. Teloca J. Sistrunk, instructor in the Division of Business Administration & Economics, Morehouse College

“I value the insight shared on how to develop the basic structure of a grant proposal using components from the RFP. I also appreciated the capacity/capability upfront screening tool to help in determining which grants an institution should pursue. This workshop will also help us improve the quality and clarity of the grants we submit, which will enable CAU to advance its international program and achieve its globalization objectives.”

- Bruce Strickland, School of Business Administration, Clark Atlanta University

Southeast U.S. Consortium Pedagogy Workshop - 3/18/2011

"Finding international business (IB) resources and then successfully implementing them into my current IB curricula has proven to be difficult in the past. The pedagogical workshop provided me with a platform to easily access valuable links (GlobalEdge), videos and materials that will add value to my IB curricula. The workshop also supplied professors, like myself, with the arena to learn successful proven implementation techniques from fellow IB professors’ past experiences. I would like to thank GSU-CIBER and the consortium for providing us [IB professors] with valuable resources and techniques that will improve our IB curricula and sequentially improve our students' learning experience."

- Dr. Dee Sams, associate professor of marketing and WebMBA, Georgia College

Distinguished Speaker Series: "Why do Nations Fail? Historical Origins of Poverty" - 1/17/2011

"Professor Daron Acemoglu led a fascinating presentation. He went brilliantly in-depth with the historic origins and the impact of institutions on the development of societies. I believe that his synopsis is correct and directly correlates with present-day economic dilemmas. If a society hopes to be economically prosperous and properly structured, institutions would have to be in order. His presentation on the historical origins of poverty was very insightful and extremely tantalizing."

- Robert Hughes, community youth organizer and leader

Alexandria University Professor Exchange

"GSU has an agreement that is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development to access and assist Alexandria University in Cairo and Alexandria, Egypt, in putting together a solid Executive MBA program. This requires the GSU faculty to make trips to Alexandria University and teach graduate classes, sit down with their faculty and examine their syllabi, and conduct educational seminars and workshops. The faculty at Alexandria University benefits greatly from the knowledge and support from GSU faculty, including access to all the university’s syllabi, materials, technology, and educational processes and procedures."

- Professor Pedro E. Carrillo, Institute of International Business

Global Partners MBA Program

"The Global Partners MBA Program at the J. Mack Robinson College of Business has established an infrastructure that assists its students with finding what they want to pursue career-wise and helps them develop the professional and personal skills to achieve it. The program, which is a partnership between prestigious universities in the U.S.A., France and Brazil, allows its students to experience studying at each university and subsequently learn the international professional and personal attributes needed to excel in a quickly globalizing world. This program assists students in realizing what they want to achieve in life and help them find ways to get there. It also gives them an opportunity to develop tolerance, an open mind and adaptability toward the worlds’ different cultures."

- Pierre-Yves Lagroue, French partner, Sorbonne University, France

International Business Alliance (IBA) Mentorship Program

"Through the International Business Alliance’s (IBA) Mentorship Program, I was connected with Jim Munson, CEO of Munson International, here in Atlanta. He has introduced me to a wide range of business professionals, companies and students from around the world. I was also brought on as a marketing intern at his company, where I made additional connections with his chief marketing and chief investment officers. My time as a mentored student allowed me to acquire new useful skills and knowledge needed as a future international business professional."

- Rorey Jones, Master of International Business, Georgia State University

International Trade Workshop - 12/6/2010

"Leading members of Georgia's international business community shared their expertise about how to enter the global export market at a workshop presented by Georgia State University and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. The workshop, which was designed for leaders of small- and medium-sized businesses as well as international trade professionals, provided attendees with a basic understanding of the role of exporting in a global economy and the steps involved in the exporting process. The program focused on how to identify high-potential and emerging markets, devise market entry strategies, establish effective steps for success and provide access to international service providers. Local small- to medium-sized enterprises gained the knowledge on how to properly assess timing and procedure to expand their businesses with international trade. Out of the 75 attendees, the consensus was that the workshop helped prepare their businesses to increase their competitiveness in the global market."

- Robinson College of Business Department of Communications and Marketing

International Business Certificate - 12/14/2010

"In my opinion, the average American student does not have a strong understanding of how the global economy works. Obtaining this certificate assisted me in stepping outside of the typical business school curriculum and exploring the business markets and environments of countries abroad. On my required study abroad to Italy, I had the chance to intimately analyze its labor mobility dilemma associated with the younger Italians who are moving from the South to the North in order to avoid agriculture-related types of work. I was also able to refer to what I analyzed on my study abroad in Italy and apply it to the detailed global economic discussions in my International Business (IB) classes back at Georgia State University. The required IB courses prepared me to have a global mindset when it comes to marketing, entrepreneurship and investment, opening many possibilities for acquiring a financial analysis position internationally. The foreign language classes and the diverse cultural attributes acquired from the IB courses and study abroad program will increase my chances of entering the job market. I have prepared myself to be more than a domestic business professional since I can take the skills learned from acquiring this certificate and be successful anywhere in the world."

- Nastassja Ivanowski, senior, fall 2010 International Business Certificate recipient

Inaugural CIBER Southeast Consortium Meeting

"Congratulations on a well-planned, well-executed inaugural CIBER consortium meeting. The energy and enthusiasm in the room was igniting! The GSU-CIBER team has assembled an excellent group of diverse schools and programs with whom to collaborate. The Southeast Consortium will provide an excellent vehicle for the School of Business at Clark Atlanta University to achieve our mission of preparing graduates to succeed in a complex, dynamic, global environment. We look forward to myriad collaborative initiatives with GSU and other consortium colleagues."

- Lydia M. Floyd, Dean, School of Business Administration, Clark Atlanta University

Developing Turkish Language Skills at GSU

"We had a very small class of five students in 2008. Since then, I have been able to attract students' interest in the Turkish language and culture in different ways. I worked on recruiting new students by attending the incoming freshmen orientations, giving guest lectures on Turkish in various perspectives classes and working closely with the advising office to inform them about the Turkish offerings at GSU. I also try to reach current students through regular Turkish coffee hours and film screenings. These are not only for students of my Turkish class but for all students who are interested in Turkish culture and language. In my first class yesterday, some students told me they wanted to take Turkish because they became fascinated with the Turkish culture during one of these Turkish coffee hours and they wanted to actively practice the language by taking the class. Due to these efforts and with help I have been able to boost our numbers by more than 400%, as I started this semester with 21 students in my beginner course. To keep my course interesting I have also found ways for students to use the material they have learned in more of a real-life situation. I ask native Turkish speakers to meet with a student through our Turkish Conversation Partners Program. Students are given the opportunity to practice their Turkish while also helping their partner learn more English. This also gives the students a connection and contact in Turkey itself. So, in a 3-year time span we have been able to develop not only the only Turkish program in the state of Georgia, but also the largest program in the nation with still room to grow."

- Nur Yigitoglu - Turkish instructor, Applied Languistic Department

France and Belgium Study Abroad Program - 12/13/2010

"Since its initial trip in 2001, the European Union Study Abroad has provided students with the opportunity to examine the business climate in the EU with field experience in France and Belgium. Students gain an insight into financial and managerial issues in France within the greater EU context. The in-country experience allows students to observe and examine first-hand how companies work within the EU structure. This program has been successful for 10 years because it offers students the opportunity to gain an understanding of the EU business environment at an intimate level. The students end up having a better understanding than the EU citizens in terms of how companies operate in such markets. They understand how companies function with the encompassing bureaucratic structure of the EU and also adapt to the segmented local markets of the member states. The students are shocked to discover that two neighboring countries with similar demographics can be so diverse in terms of their business processes and marketing strategies. They are also surprised to observe how similar the business climate in the EU is to the U.S., where decisions made in the EU can affect the market in each member state and vice versa."

-Pierre-Yves Lagroue, Ph.D., Sorbonne University

J. Mack Robinson College of Business Programs Win Governor’s International Award - 12/6/2010

"Georgia State University's J. Mack Robinson College of Business won the 2010 Governor's International Award in the International Education Program category. The award was presented as part of the second annual Atlanta World Showcase and Governor's International Awards event held at the Georgia International Convention Center, sponsored by the Atlanta Business Chronicle and the World Trade Center of Atlanta.

The commendation, signed by Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue, praised CIBER for its 'innovative and global approach to educating students' and the World Affairs Council of Atlanta for 'developing international education programs…and using those programs to promote Georgia and drive economic development.'"

- Gary McKillips, J. Mack Robinson College of Business

International Business Education Class in Spanish - 12/13/2010

"In order to successfully conduct international business, you need to understand the culture of the target country where members live and consume. Most successful international business entrepreneurs agree that learning a foreign language is a key competitive advantage in doing business abroad. Many experts agree that Latin America is becoming the next business opportunity for U.S companies, and the main languages spoken in this region are Spanish and Portuguese. Therefore, it is important to give our students the opportunity to learn the theory and practice of international business in these two languages, so they can be successful dealing and doing business in these markets. To respond to this need, Professor Pedro Carrillo developed in 2005 a Spanish section of BUSA 3000 (Introductory IB course), in which the core course of international business is fully delivered in Spanish. We will offer one in Portuguese shortly. These courses benefit students by improving cognitive skills, as several studies indicate that students who are competent in more than one language outscore those who are speakers of only one language on tests of verbal and nonverbal intelligence. The courses also benefit the students by increasing their employment opportunities because a combination of learning a foreign language as well as the theory and practice of international business gives them a significant advantage in the current job market."

- Professor Fernando Doria, Institute of International Business

Global and Business Practices (BUSA) 3000 Honors Class - 12/3/2010

"The Honors BUSA 3000 class taught by Dr. Martha White was really intriguing to me because it went in-depth with topics that coincide with my career aspirations, which is helping domestic companies operate in the global market. We had tantalizing lessons on the risks associated with foreign direct investment, the general steps a company needs to take to succeed in the global market, and what assets a country should possess in order to attract foreign investments. I left the class with the ability to prepare a country analysis that helps determine whether there are viable investment options for a sustained growth. All the lessons taught in the class will surely be a great benefit for any student who would like to succeed in the job market."

Nabilah Islam, junior, Business Management (Honors)

Study Abroad Trip to Czech Republic and Hungary - 12/3/2010

"Europe for business is definitely a different experience than Europe for leisure, friends or even volunteering. Our fearless leader, Dr. Wade Danis, had a favorite saying - 'Four weeks. Six credits.' He made sure that we earned every last one of those credits, but it was worth it! I knew the class was right up my alley with the focus on emerging economies, and I’ve got a notebook filled with valuable facts that will help me choose among internship and career options over the next six months."

- Sharon Jordan, Master of International Business

U.S. And Latin America Trade (USLAT) Initiative

"USLAT was developed by professors David C. Bruce, Pedro E. Carrillo and E. Fernando Doria to assist Latin American small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in creating a detailed entrance strategy and positioning themselves to be successful in the U.S. market. This program was also expanded to assist North American SMEs that would like to operate in Latin America.

USLAT benefits both international businesses and the GSU faculty; companies gain a huge benefit from having a well-constructed strategy for entering a very competitive and difficult market, which is based on the vast amounts of expertise and knowledge of the GSU faculty. Professors benefit from seeing the theory we teach in the classroom being applied to a real-life project, and successful projects can be developed into case studies to be used in classrooms nationwide."

- Dr. Pedro E. Carrillo, Institute of International Business, co-founder of USLAT

2010 CIBER Case Study Competition

"Definitely Dr. Bello and Professor Ruff helped. One big thing, however, was the managerial sciences 3400 Honors section, where we did a lot of Harvard Business School cases. My study abroad with associate professor of finance Milind Shrikhande also had a lot of HBS cases and, saving the best for last, my BUSA 3000 and 4980 Honors classes were terrific. Who would have thought that the cases I did in those classes would one day help me in becoming a CIBER Case winner."

- Olufunke “Lateefah” Taiwo, senior, CIBER Case Study Award winner