2011 Annual Report
Michigan State University

The 2011 Annual Report of the Michigan State University International Business Center is now available online.

2012 Joint Area Centers Symposium: Cities and Inequalities in a Transnational World
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Symposium organized and collectively funded by the NRCs.  The topics are decided in advance by the center directors, and responsibility for organizing the event rotates among the centers.  This year's topic is : Cities and Inequalities in a Transnational World. CGS is responsible for helping organizing the event.  The faculty organizers are Faranak Miraftab and Ken Salo of the Dept of Urbana and Regional Planning, and David Wilson of the Dept of Geography.  Erik Swyngedouw, will give a CAS/MillerComm presentation, Every Revolution Has Its Square: RePoliticizing the Unequal City.

Cities and Inequalities in a Transnational World
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

For the first time in human history most people live in cities and virtually all of the world’s population growth is occurring in urban areas. Growing urbanization, inequalities of access to improved water, sanitation, health, education and housing, and migration are interconnected, and in complex ways both cause and reflect the global restructuring of production and social reproduction. Because humankind has become and might continue to be a species of city dwellers, the questions we ask about urbanization and urban inequality in a transnational world are questions about the human condition.

Cities and Inequalities in a Transnational World symposium seeks to better understand the unfolding processes of urbanization and transnationalism that might prove similar or different from the past and across regions. Through this symposium we seek a global perspective grounded in the regional experiences of regions of Africa, South and South East Asia, Latin America, Middle East, European Union; Russia and Eastern Europe.

Spring Break Study Tour Announced: Sustainable Business in Costa Rica
University of Florida

This course, open to all WCBA graduate students, is designed to introduce participants to the special issues of doing business in a sustainable manner in an international context. We have chosen Costa Rica for its proximity to Florida, its accessibility, its varied industries, and its deliberate national strategy of balancing business competitiveness and considerations of humane labor practices and protecting the biologically diverse natural environment. Because it is a small, politically stable, and an open democracy, a visitor may gain a 360-degree view of how the sustainability strategy works and does not work and what implications there are for doing business in the region. The course consists of two parts–a pre-trip course component and the study tour. The pre-trip component will meet three or four times to gain knowledge of Costa Rican history and culture, business environment, the natural environment, and major industries. In addition, we will study readings on theories of sustainability.

Doing Business with China & Understanding Your Chinese Partner
Georgia State University

This practical  workshop will respond to questions of how to develop fruitful relationships with Chinese business partners. It will focus on identifying, qualifying, and developing these relationships. Anyone interested in cultivating the Chinese market through a distributor, agent, or another intermediary should attend. The panel of experts will address multiple dimensions of business partnering, including legal and cultural issues.

Location: UPS Headquarters,  Oberkotter 1 & 2 Meeting Room

Time: 9-11:30am

Teaching Workshop
Georgia State University

This interactive session will focus on: (a) "what" - content; (b) "how" - pedagogy; and (c) "resources" - for teaching international business. Professor S. Tamer Cavusgil and Professor Jacobus Boers will share their experience and teaching tools that have been especially developed for IB educators. Also covered will be an overview of online resources for teaching. A compendium of teaching resources will be made available to participants. The intent is also to engage participants in an interactive discussion designed to search for excellence in the teaching of international business.

Were They Taught or Did They Learn? A Framework for Investigating the Role and Effect(iveness) of Instruction in Second Language Learning
Temple University

Presented by Dr. Alex Housen, University of Brussels, Belgium

Instruction has always been a key component of the language learning experience of most L2 learners but its role in the acquisition of a second or foreign language (L2) has been controversial ever since antiquity. Language teachers are often puzzled about the apparent discrepancy between what their students are taught, what they learn and (seem to) know, and what they can actually do in their L2.  But whatever their allegiance to a particular language teaching method, all language teachers will probably agree that some kind of instruction is necessary for successful L2 learning.

The Student Diplomat Junior Model UN Prep Conference
Temple University

Students convene at Temple University’s Fox School of Business and learn from expert speakers about the topics they will debate at the Model UN Conference. The conference agenda also includes activites centered on group problem solving, public speaking and resolution writing.

2012 CIBER Business Language Conference
University of North Carolina

The theme of the 2012 conference is "Building bridges from business languages to business communities." The conference will challenge participating scholars and instructors (from universities, colleges, K-12, businesses and governmental organizations) to inspire new lines of research, rethink teaching techniques, and create links between language classrooms and real businesses. Special plenary sessions will consider how applied professional language instruction and research is advancing, discuss perspectives from academia and industry, as well as showcase exciting examples and best practices of experiential learning. 

Proposals are due by November 1, 2011; please see the conference website for additional details.

Post-conference workshops will be available (additional $45). See the online Agenda for details.

Global Business Club of Mid-Michigan: Expanding Internationally In Times of Risk & Uncertainty
Michigan State University

Speaker University Distinguished Professor Max Kreinin

This ½ day seminar and luncheon will propose solutions to dealing with all types of risk encountered by companies that are doing business internationally or interested in starting. Professionals in the fields of trade finance, foreign exchange, private insurance and business law will be on hand. Our luncheon keynote speaker is University Distinguished Professor of Economics (Trade/International Finance) Max Kreinin. Professor Kreinin is a consultant to the Council on Foreign Relations and several federal and state agencies, and will speak on the current European economic situation and its implications for international business.

The Global Business Club of Mid-Michigan focuses on global issues of interest to the mid-Michigan business community. The monthly GB Club luncheons provide outstanding speakers and relaxed networking opportunities. With extensive international experience, the speakers wrap personal insights around a practical and up-to-the-minute approach to conducting international trade.

Asia/Pacific Business Outlook
University of Southern California

The 25th annual Asia Pacific Business Outlook (APBO), produced in partnership with the U.S. Commercial Service (USCS) of the Department of Commerce, is North America's premier event for businesses that want to develop and improve their trade and investment opportunities in the Asia/Pacific region. Get the current intelligence on 17 economies, as well as practical, applicable solutions to logistical, legal, financial, marketing, planning, and human resource issues. APBO 2012 will introduce sessions on Brazil and Russia to round out the BRIC economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China). Learn about the impacts of: China's leadership change; US-Korea FTA; Indonesia's dynamic growth; latest developments in Thailand & Myanmar; Recovery in Japan; etc. The conference allows participants to schedule one-on-one appointments with the officers from the USCS.

Global Management Forum: "Cuba Today and Tomorrow: Economic conditions and trends"
Purdue University

Dr. Paolo Spadoni, Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Augusta State University will lecture students and business leaders on the current situation and direction of the Cuban economy.  Dr. Spadoni has conducted extensive research on the Cuban economy and the economic impact of U.S. sanctions against Cuba.  He has published widely in scholarly and academic venues and is the author of "Failed Sanctions: Why the U.S. Embargo against Cuba Could Never Work."  Most recently, he contributed a chapter on Cuba’s economic policies to the "Oxford Handbook of Latin American Political Economy" and an article on Canada-Cuba business relations in the "Thunderbird International Business Review" (forthcoming). He is currently working on a book on the Cuban economy.   The program will take place Wednesday, March 28, from 5:00-6:00pm in Rawls 2070.

Lansing Economic Club: Jim Herbert, Chairman of the Board and CEO Neogen Corporation
Michigan State University

Jim Herbert, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Neogen Corporation.  Program begins at Noon; please arrive early for registration & networking. Single Tickets $40, or tables of eight $300 (includes lunch). Pre-registration is required.

Response to Intervention (RTI) for English Language Learners
Temple University

Presented by Dr. Janette Klingner

In this talk, the presenter will discuss common challenges faced by educators as they implement RTI in culturally and linguistically diverse schools with English language learners, and offer suggestions for addressing these challenges. She will show actual examples of literacy instruction for English language learners from a school implementing an RTI model for the first time. Finally, she will offer a culturally and linguistically responsive RTI model and suggest how to implement RTI in feasible, effective ways.

Pressing Issues in World Energy Policy Conference
University of Florida

Leading experts from around the globe will present their latest research on pressing issues in world energy policy. This conference is sponsored by the Robert F. Lanzillotti Public Policy Research Center (PPRC) in the University of Florida Warrington College of Business Administration, in partnership with PURC.