The Center for Global Initiatives in the College of Business is sponsoring Global Business Week Nov. 13-15 to generate interest in the global marketplace and prepare students for the 21st century workforce.

Global Business Week is targeted to undergraduate and graduate business students who will be at the forefront of cross-border transactions in the future.  Events include a study abroad fair, study abroad student panel and global business presentations by area professionals. All events will be held at Richard H. Barry Hall.

“Research shows that creating global attitudes should be the ultimate mission of business schools in the future,” said Newell Wright, director of the Center for Global Initiatives.

One of the key ways to accomplish that is through study abroad. Whether students ever work abroad, they likely will work for a company that has global customers or sources supplies from around the world, Wright said. They likely will be working in an increasingly multicultural and diverse workforce, even if they never leave the country.

“Business study abroad programs prepare students at multiple levels for the workforce of the future,” Wright said. “Students who study abroad are more globally minded, communicate better across cultures, are more open to diversity, and, in general, are more able to move across multiple cultural boundaries than students who have not studied abroad.”

Global Business Week events include:

Nov. 13
9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Barry Hall atrium
Study abroad fair: Students can learn about the upcoming study abroad opportunities for 2013, view travel photos from Center for Global Initiatives study abroad trips, and get material for applications and travel awards.

Nov. 14
10:30 a.m., Barry Hall room 140 (auditorium)
Benji Smith of Minnesota State University Moorhead will present on walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain, a 500-mile pilgrimage trail that required 38 days to complete.

12:30 p.m., Barry Hall room 262
Mike Peterson, NDSU accounting assistant professor, will present “The Convergence to Global Accounting Standards.”

Nov. 15
11:30 a.m., Barry Hall room 140 (auditorium)
A student panel, “The Value of Study Abroad,” will share how their study abroad experience through the Center of Global Initiatives changed their lives.

2:30 p.m., Barry Hall room 126
Ralf Mehnert-Meland, from Intelligent Insites in Fargo, will present on global business and highlight some of his experiences. Originally from Germany, Mehnert-Meland has a broad background in international business and working with software development companies.  

Barry Hall is part of NDSU’s downtown campus and is located on the corner of Second Ave. and 10th St. N. in Fargo.

For more information, contact Wendy Baumann at 701-231-7006 or wendy.baumann@ndsu.edu.

NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.