In moments of crisis and uncertainty, the strength of one’s support network is crucial for effectively navigating the dangers that follow a significant disruption.
This summer, the Fox School organized and hosted a conference for international business educators, administrators and students as part of the Consortium for Undergraduate International Business Education (CUIBE). Established in 2003, CUIBE’s goal is to foster productive engagement across a vast network of international business students and educators. The Fox School was one of ten founding members for the organization.
Held at Temple University Rome (TU Rome), the 2022 CUIBE conference returned for the first time in two years to focus on the central theme of disruption to global markets, and international business education in particular, set in motion by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Anthony Seeton, assistant professor of management at the Fox School, and Lindsay Clark, associate director of operations and events for the Department of Management, organized the conference.
Panel discussions, workshops, networking events and group outings were held across three days in Rome. Cultural excursions and walking tours of the city gave participants the chance to experience the sights and scenery up close, touring gardens and galleries with the guidance of professors from TU Rome. Discussions focused on a variety of issues that impact international business education, including trends amid disruption like networked learning, translational research and the global impact of cryptocurrencies. Temple’s Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) was a sponsor of the event.
Attendants of the conference shared and learned best practices in international business education, engaging in dialogue that empowers participants to reflect on their own work while gaining new perspectives from their peers.
Neha Mittal, associate professor in the Fox School’s Department of Statistics, Operations, and Data Science, went to Rome for this year’s conference. Mittal spoke at the conference, presenting the initiatives which she has been involved in at the translational research center.
“I had organized an international business case writing competition under the Translational Research Center (TRC) at the Fox School last year,” says Mittal. “In addition, I had developed a few other initiatives under TRC’s case writing efforts that helped promote business education at Fox.”
“I wanted to support Temple University’s capabilities in the creation and delivery of educational programs that can develop the appropriate skills and knowledge in students to be successful in global business,” continues Mittal. “There often lies a disconnect between research and teaching. My presentation went into how translational research activities can help make research more interesting, easier to adopt for both students and practitioners.”
Spencer MacMaster is an undergraduate international business student at the Fox School and a program associate at Temple’s Management Consulting Program.
“I had the privilege of both helping to plan as well as participating in the conference,” says MacMaster. “I was able to offer the perspective of a former Temple Rome Entry Year (TREY) program student. A lot of other schools found this to be very valuable because they were able to ask questions which would enable them to launch similarly successful programs at their own schools.”
As a TREY student, MacMaster’s freshman year was spent at Temple’s Rome campus in the fall of 2019, a stay that was notably cut short after spring break in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Attending the CUIBE conference and helping to organize the event proved to be an educational and validating experience for MacMaster as both a student and an aspiring professional.
“To have the opportunity to return as a rising senior where I started my college career, where I never got to say goodbye, was a very full-circle experience,” says MacMaster. “As a conference coordinator, I had the opportunity to go to a restaurant and engage in an international business exchange with the restaurant’s manager to plan the overview of event logistics and contracts. It was a surreal opportunity because I’ve learned about interactions like that in class, but actually having the tangible experience to apply the skills I’ve learned sent me over the moon.”