vol. XVI no. 2

				The establishment of the Office of International Affairs in October 1998 spearheaded the university's strategic goal of extending its service and community outreach mission beyond state and national boundaries. This emphasis reflects the university leadership's appreciation of the importance of preparing our students to successfully compete in the new global environment. To date, the results are encouraging, and we have witnessed growing involvement of Georgia State University faculty, staff and students in international activities both on campus and around the world. The international content of the curriculum continues to expand, more and more students are studying abroad, international student and scholar numbers are approaching 2,000 and an increasing number of faculty and administrative staff are engaged in international cooperative initiatives on every continent. The Robinson College's engagement on the African continent represents a substantial part of the university's success over the past five years in internationalizing education. These programs have broadened the understanding and knowledge of all those who participate, both African and American. From the perspective of the Office of International Affairs, our work with the Robinson College of Business in identifying, designing and implementing its various African initiatives has been particularly gratifying. As the College has worked to build its Africa portfolio, its leadership has consistently provided the vision along with the financial and human resources needed to aggressively pursue projects of interest. It is no surprise that internationalization efforts at Georgia State University embrace Africa. With its vast human and physical resources, the continent of Africa represents the last major development frontier. For centuries, the world has benefited from these extensive assets. Its gold, diamonds, oil and people are vital engines of growth for the developed world. However, thus far the continent's wealth has not been leveraged effectively to address its own pressing problems of poverty, disease and underdevelopment. Consequently, while Africa gives much to the rest of the world, its needs are equally great. Georgia State University and the Robinson College of Business both contribute to and learn from relationships in Africa. The Robinson College of Business is especially well positioned to assist Africa in addressing some of its most pressing development challenges. There is a clear consensus among development thinkers that Africa's private sector must be energized and expanded to spur development. This means helping to strengthen the entrepreneurial mindset, creating favorable policy environments and building strong educational programs to train the men and women so critically needed for economic development. Whether at the Alexandria Institute of Technology in Egypt or the University of Pretoria in South Africa, Robinson programs are doing just that. And in the process, Robinson College faculty, staff and students benefit from the tremendous learning experience associated with working in and taking on the problems and challenges of a different culture. Robinson's programs represent not only an important vision realized, but also important work in progress that contributes to improving the lives of the world's poorest of the poor. John Hicks, Associate Provost for International Affairs, wrote this article and contributed his expertise to the stories on Ghana and South Africa. Top

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