International Business Center

Global Business Club of Mid-Michigan: Global Business Club: Spotlight on Vietnam
2024-08-14 10:00 - 15:00 UTC | Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center, 219 S Harrison Rd, East Lansing, 48824, United States
Speaker Speakers and Panelists
For the next event in the GBC Market Spotlight Series, the MSU International Business Center is partnering with the U.S. Commercial Service and the Van Andel Global Trade Center to highlight the Vietnamese market. This event will feature market overviews, a Michigan Exporters Business Panel, lunch, networking, and the opportunity for 1-on-1 meetings with trade service providers. For questions contact IBC Assistant Director Hannah Pszenica, email: pszenica@msu.edu
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.

Virtual Global Business Club: How to Adapt Your Brands and Products for Global Markets
2024-08-27 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | virtual
This webinar will provide an industry and academic perspective on how to launch and adapt your brands and products for global markets. Topics will include best practices and pitfalls to avoid, how to create market segments, how to find and use market research, and how to determine pricing.
Featured Speakers:

Dr. Ahmet Kirca – Director of the MSU IBC / CIBER and Associate Professor of International Business and Marketing
Wellington Chu – Former U.S. Commercial Diplomat and Global Marketing Executive

For questions contact IBC Assistant Director Hannah Pszenica, email: pszenica@msu.edu

Virtual Global Business Club: Opportunities and Updates: AI & Machine Learning in Advanced Manufacturing
2024-09-11 10:00 - 11:30 UTC | virtual

Publishing in International Business Research: Tips and Trends from Editors - Research Spotlight by MSU & Texas A&M CIBERS
2024-09-13 12:00 - 13:30 UTC
In this webinar, editors of three prominent journals in the international business field will discuss key trends, topics and issues in IB research, as well as the best practices for publishing in leading international business journals. This webinar will include short presentations followed by discussion moderated by the co-hosts.
Key takeaways:

Tips related to best practices for publishing international research topics
Gain insights into common issues/problems raised in the review process
Learn topics of significant interest to editors
To register, please click on the link below.

IB Research Spotlight: Publishing in International Business Research - Tips and Trends from Editors
2024-09-13 12:00 - 13:30 UTC | virtual
The free webinar will feature editors of three prominent journals in the international business field. Panelists will discuss key trends, topics, and issues in IB research, as well as the best practices for publishing in leading international business journals. The webinar will include short presentations followed by discussions moderated by the co-hosts.
Key takeaways for attendees will include:

Tips related to best practices for publishing
Gain insights into common issues/problems raised in the review process
Learn topics of significant interest to editors

Lansing Economic Club: Jon Decker, White House Correspondent
2024-09-24 11:30 - 13:30 UTC | Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center, 219 S Harrison Rd, East Lansing, 48824, United States
The Lansing Economic Club will welcome Jon Decker, White House Correspondent and Senior National Editor for Gray Television on Tuesday, Sept. 24. Decker will provide an overview of the 2024 presidential election. Thank you to our program sponsor Fahey Schultz Burzych Rhodes.

Virtual Global Business Club: Getting Paid & Risk Mitigation for Your Exports
2024-09-26 11:00 - 12:00 UTC
Are You Ready to Grow Your Exports? Learn how EXIM Bank can support you! Don’t lose potential business to competitors by overlooking different payment options that could be attractive to your international buyers. To succeed in today’s global marketplace and win sales against competitors, exporters must be able to offer their customers attractive credit terms supported by the appropriate payment methods and risk mitigation solutions. Join us for a conversation with Mariel Huasanga, EXIM’s Regional Director, who will dive deeper into the various tools EXIM has available for exporters to grow their exports and offset the risk of non-payment. In this free webinar, you’ll learn how to:

Protect your business against buyer nonpayment.
Extend competitive open account credit terms to international buyers.
Unlock cash flow to fulfill sales orders and acquire new business abroad.

For questions contact IBC Assistant Director Hannah Pszenica, email: pszenica@msu.edu

A Song of GANTT Charts: Teaching Management with Science Fiction and Fantasy
2024-10-10 11:00 - 12:00 UTC
How is a Star Wars movie like an internal audit? What lessons can we learn about toxic leadership from the story of Daenerys Targaryen? The author of the BSFA Award-winning essay series Project Management from Rogue One and the BSFA and World Fantasy Award-nominated book Management Lessons from Game of Thrones talks about how to use popular science fiction and fantasy series to increase student engagement and promote learning retention.
Takeaways:
1. How to use science fiction and fantasy series in business studies teaching
2. How fictional narratives provide insight into real-life organizations
3. The wider role of narratives and storytelling in the classroom
This is a FREE webinar, but registration is required.

The International Business Webinar Series is a project of the national CIBER Minority Serving Institution (MSI) Consortium, led by Georgia State University CIBER and sponsored by CIBERs at Florida International University, George Washington University, Indiana University, Loyola Marymount University, Michigan State University, Temple University, Texas A&M University, University of Colorado-Denver, and the University of Maryland. This program is partially funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

Lansing Economic Club: "State of Healthcare: Future of Care in the Lansing Region"
2024-10-10 11:30 - 13:30 UTC | MSU Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center, 219 S Harrison Rd, East Lansing, 48824, United States
Join us for the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce Lansing Economic Club program “State of Healthcare: Future of Care in the Lansing Region.” on Thursday, October 10, 2024, from 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center. The focus of the program is to discuss the current state and outlook of healthcare in our region.

Panelist include:

Kirk Ray, President & CEO McLaren Greater Lansing

Margaret Dimond, PhD, President, University of Michigan Health Regional Network
Norm Hubbard, SVP of MSU Health Sciences
Travis Souza, Associate Chief Strategy Officer, Michigan Medicine
Program will be moderated by:
Brian Peters, CEO, Michigan Health & Hospital Association

Virtual Global Business Club: Ecommerce to Grow Your Sales Internationally
2024-10-16 11:00 - 12:30 UTC
The MSU International Business Center’s Global Business Club is partnering with the highly regarded IBT Online to offer a webinar focused on best practices in e-commerce to grow your business internationally. Among other topics, this session will cover how to have an effective digital strategy and how to build high converting and localized websites.
For questions contact IBC Assistant Director Hannah Pszenica, email: pszenica@msu.edu

Lansing Economic Club: Celebration of Regional Growth Awards
2024-11-06 11:30 - 13:30 UTC | Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center, 219 S Harrison Rd, East Lansing, 48824, United States
As part of the Lansing Economic Club speaker series, the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce will honor five organizations for their investments that are reshaping and transforming our region during the 19th annual Celebration of Regional Growth (CORG) Awards. Since 2006, more than 90 companies have been recognized and have combined to contribute $3 billion in investment in the regional economy. If you are interested in attending, please reach out to Ronda Bunnell at bunnell@msu.edu to see if there is availability at our table.
This year we are pleased to recognize the following organizations:
• Amazon
• Capital Area Housing Partnership
• Grewal Hall
• Midwest Power Equipment
• Midwest Press & Automation

2024 Broad College International Business Student Case Competition
2024-11-15 09:00 - 18:00 UTC | Minskoff Pavilion, 645 N Shaw Ln, East Lansing, 48824, United States
IBC/MSU-CIBER is organizing an international business student case competition in the Broad College. The student teams will have 3 days to work on the business case and present their solutions to a panel of industry judges. Each presentation will last for 20 min, followed by 10 min Q&A session.
You are invited!

$4,000 competition award fund: $2,000 for the 1st place, $1,000 for the 2nd place, $600 for the 3rd place, $400 for the 4th place
Gain valuable experience and make yourself more marketable (unique line on a resume, topic of conversation in interviews, etc.)
Potential to represent Broad College at national case competitions

Eligibility

The competition is open to Broad College undergraduate students
Each team must consist of 4 students. Participants can either:

form a team of 4 students (preferred option) or
express interest and be assigned to a team by organizers

Entrants will be accepted on a first come first serve basis, Apply early!
Detailed competition rules are presented in the attached file (below)
Competition sign-up deadline: November 1, 2024
Registration
https://msu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cBcHmd2eFI3fAma
For more information, please contact Raymond Pirouz at pirouzra@msu.edu

Global Business Club Webinar: Winning Strategies for Trade Shows & Trade Missions
2024-11-20 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Detroit) | https://ibc.broad.msu.edu/event/global-business-club-webinar-winning-strategies-for-trade-shows-trade-missions/
The MSU International Business Center’s Global Business Club is partnering with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) to share best practices for how to prepare for trade shows and trade missions. Drawing on over 20 years of experience, John Gelmisi will highlight how participating can provide significant networking opportunities and keep you updated on industry trends and current competitors.
Key points:

Evaluating Participation: Determine if your company should attend and the value it brings.

Maximizing ROI: Strategies to optimize your participation before, during, and after the event.

Networking Opportunities: Take advantage to access key decision-makers for potential business growth and partnerships and connect with current clients.

For questions contact IBC Assistant Director Hannah Pszenica, email: pszenica@msu.edu

IB Webinar Series: "The Varieties of Populism; Their Rise & Impact on Business & Society"
2024-11-21 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Detroit)
Today, we have seen the rise of many populist leaders and parties across the globe. This has led to rising interest in the phenomenon of populism. However, this interest, particularly in the public domain has led to naive and stereotypical definitions and views on populism based on a few prominent contemporary cases. Yet populism has a long historical tradition, particularly in the United States and South America, and has its roots all the way back to Ancient Rome. In this webinar, we discuss the nature of populism and its varieties, and why today it is a mixture of factors we have seen before. Some appear new and unique but are still within the bounds of our understanding.
Key takeaways:
1. Gain a clearer perspective on the populist wave of the last decade.
2. Acquire a better understanding of how companies have, and can, address, the political reality they are facing.
3. Develop an understanding of how the political structure of different countries can influence their susceptibility to the influence of fringe political ideologies.
This webinar is FREE and open to all, but registration is required. Zoom details will be sent to all registered participants.

Global Insights: Harnessing AI to Revolutionize International Business Education
2024-11-22 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Detroit) | https://msu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_htWDgKSzQcGqVfwmK8lxuw
Presented by Professor Ayse Ozturk, this session will explore how AI can be used for teaching, providing faculty with practical tools to enhance learning experiences and increase efficiency. Topics include:

AI-Generated Presentations: Create engaging presentations from a simple prompt (e.g., Gamma AI).
Culturally Tailored Branding: Generate cross-cultural brand names, slogans, and logos (e.g., Canva).
AI-Powered Videos: Create promotional short videos (e.g., Invideo AI).
Simplified Data Analysis: Analyze data quickly (e.g., Data Analysts Custom GPT).
Streamlined Assessments: Automate quizzes and study guides (Notebook LM).
Tailored Online Courses: Design personalized online courses (e.g., WisdomPlan AI).

For questions contact IBC Assistant Director Hannah Pszenica, email: pszenica@msu.edu

IB Webinar Series: "Internationalization of Circular Business Models & Related Value Chains"
2024-12-05 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Detroit) | https://ibc.broad.msu.edu/event/ib-webinar-series-internationalization-of-circular-business-models-related-value-chains/
Interest in circular business models (CBMs) and sustainable practices across the value chain is growing as businesses face increasing pressure to operate responsibly on a global scale. While CBMs hold the promise of sustainability and resource efficiency, adapting and internationalizing these models presents unique challenges. How can companies successfully enter into new markets while staying true to their circular principles?
A key factor lies in understanding the actors of the business model—suppliers, partners, and other stakeholders—and aligning them with the goals of circularity. Building sustainable value chains requires not only selecting the right suppliers and partners but also adapting the entire business model to new international contexts.
This session explores the intersection of internationalization and circularity in business models. The discussion will be about how companies pursuing circularity can succeed internationally, how they can adapt CBMs to succeed in new markets and how can the roles of key actors in these models be identified.
Key Takeaways:

Explore the challenges businesses face in expanding circular business models (CBMs) internationally
Identify the key approaches needed for successful internationalization of circular business model
Understand how to integrate key actors in the value chain to ensure alignment with circularity principles and drive sustainable value creation.

This is a free webinar, but registration is required.

Global Business Club: Spotlight on South Korea
2024-12-11 10:00 - 15:00 (America/Detroit) | Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave, Detroit, 48202, United States
For the next event in the GBC Market Spotlight Series, the MSU International Business Center is partnering with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) to highlight the South Korean Market. This event will feature market overviews, a Michigan Exporters Business Panel, lunch, networking, a Korean art tour, and the opportunity for 1-on-1 meetings with trade service providers. This event is open to the public and is relevant for anyone interested in learning more about South Korea and international business in general. Information will also be provided on MEDC’s upcoming trade mission to South Korea, taking place April 6-11, 2025.
For questions contact IBC Assistant Director Hannah Pszenica, email: pszenica@msu.edu
There are a select number of complimentary tickets offered to MSU students, faculty, and staff. Please reach out to the above email if interested.

Global Business Club Webinar: Future-Ready Leadership for Global Teams: Thriving in a Changing World
2025-01-23 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Detroit)
The world is changing faster than ever, and global leaders must evolve to keep pace. Shifting demographics, rapid digital transformation, and the need for cultural alignment are redefining the way we lead diverse teams.
In this dynamic and practical webinar, Future-Ready Leadership for Global Teams: Thriving in a Changing World, you’ll discover how to:

Navigate the intersection of corporate, local, and team cultures to build alignment.
Foster trust and collaboration in virtual, multicultural teams.
Adapt to demographic and digital disruptions with confidence and agility.
Master the 4Cs of future-ready leadership

This session will provide you with effective strategies and tools to succeed as a leader in today’s globalized and rapidly changing workplace. Whether you are managing a remote team, addressing cultural differences, or aiming to enhance your leadership skills for the future, this webinar serves as your guide to success.
For questions contact IBC Assistant Director Hannah Pszenica, email: pszenica@msu.edu

“Ask, Believe, Cultivate - Adjust, Balance, Create - Amplify, Bridge, Contribute. The ABC of Navigating Research (and Academia) across Career Stages"
2025-02-06 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Detroit)
Drawing on her 35 years of experience of working in academia, Professor Anne-Wil Harzing shares her ideas on how to navigate the sometimes choppy waters of research (and academia) across career stages. Her talk will cover early, mid, and late career stages, and shows how our priorities (should) change over time.
The aim of the presentation is to challenge the audience to reflect on how they can successfully navigate the career stage they are currently in. However, it will also ask the audience to share what they would like those at other career stages than their own to understand about the unique challenges of their own career stage. As such it hopes to build mutual understanding between scholars at different career stages.
Takeaways:

Different career stages (should) come with different research priorities and challenges.
Each career stage has its own lead theme: survival, identity, and legacy.
Collaboration between scholars at different career stages requires mutual understanding of different priorities and challenges.

This webinar is FREE and open to all, but registration is required.
Zoom details will be sent to all registered participants.

“Leveraging International Partnerships for Student Success"
2025-02-13 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Detroit)
This engaging and practical webinar will be on leveraging international partnerships in higher education for student success. This informative webinar will explore strategies and best practices for building and sustaining impactful international partnerships in higher education. The session will cover innovative approaches to fostering collaboration and enhancing student success through global initiatives.
Key Topics to Be Addressed:
• Co-Designing High-Impact Practices through Virtual Exchange (Global Collaborative Learning): Learn how virtual exchange can connect students across borders, fostering teamwork, cultural understanding, and mutual learning.
• Developing Joint Research through Cross-Border Educational Collaboration: Explore ways to establish meaningful research partnerships that create value for institutions, faculty, and students.
• Applying for and Securing Third-Party Funding: Understand practical strategies for identifying funding opportunities and developing successful proposals to support global education projects.
• Enhancing Curriculum Design and Study Abroad Programs: Examine case studies of immersive and experiential programs that integrate real-world learning and foster global citizenship.
This webinar is FREE and open to all, but registration is required.
Zoom details will be sent to all registered participants.

"An Entrepreneurial Vision for Export Success"
2025-03-13 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Detroit)
An asylee from Colombia, Felipe Arroyave came to the U.S. as a teenager with a strong work ethic and a desire to better himself through education.
Along the way, he caught a vision for helping those in the developing world, from Latin America to the Middle East and beyond, who lacked access to the specialty contact lenses patients in the West take for granted.
Remedying the problem —and fixing vision for sufferers of kerotoconus, corneal abrasions and other rare ocular problems — required some gumption and finesse. He’d spied the problem while working for a $4 billion lens distributor who was blind to the potential in smaller economies.
Arroyave first proved the concept, boosting sales for his employer in Latin American markets before branching out on his own and converting his former boss into one of his largest customers.
Fast forward to today, and Spectrum was named the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Small Business Exporter of the Year in 2024 on top of previous honors, including winning both the Georgia GLOBE Award and the Atlanta Metro Export Challenge.
HIs journey from the factory floor to the C-suite, and his recent expansion of logistics and support infrastructure in Latin America to support growing sales, offers an inspiring story of overcoming the odds by seeing and seizing opportunities in international business.
Key Takeaways:

How to see opportunities at the so-called “bottom of the pyramid” that legacy players believe are too costly or not lucrative enough to serve.
The mechanics of exporting — how understanding payment, shipping, logistics and exchange rates can become a competitive advantage in the United States.
How give-back programs including free education to doctors and patients, along with an initiative provide contact lenses to underprivileged patients, has helped build goodwill and boost the bottom line.

This webinar is free and open to all, but registration is required. Zoom details will be sent to all registered participants.

Lions, Tigers, and Tariffs, Oh My!
2025-03-28 13:00 - 15:00 (America/Detroit) | MSUFCU, 4825 Mt. Hope Rd., East Lansing, 48823, United States
This event will focus on understanding implications of tariff policy on the U.S. economy.
This is an in-person only event and registration is required as seating is limited.

IB Webinar Series: “Murata: Tiny Parts, Huge Impact on Global Supply Chains"
2025-04-24 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Detroit)
This webinar is FREE and open to all, but registration is required.
Zoom details will be sent to all registered participants.
When things are going right, the small things are easy to ignore. Not so when supply chains are stressed — the essential becomes magnified, no matter how tiny.
That’s what happened with Murata, who in 1973 became one of the earliest Japanese investors in Georgia, setting up a plant to make capacitors in car radios. The Kyoto-based company, now with global annual revenues of approximately $17 Trillion yen, holds about 40 percent of the world’s market share for capacitors, small ceramic parts produced by the trillions each year to store and release power within electronic devices.
When a tsunami hit Japan’s northeast coast in 2011 and an earthquake shook the country, electronics supply chains were scrambled. Everything, from cell phones and digital cameras to appliances and EVs, relies in some way on Murata’s parts — more than 1,000 go into a typical smartphone and potentially 30,000+ slated for a fully autonomous electric vehicle.
Murata had already been diversifying its sourcing around the world, including in Southeast Asia, to be closer to end customers. It also deepened research spending to ensure it could serve advanced industries, like increasingly computerized cars, with innovative solutions. That blend of diversification and R&D continues today. Murata Electronics North America, meanwhile, has a new headquarters in Atlanta, Ga., and maintains a distribution center in Rockmart, Ga.
Today, an uncertain global trade landscape threatens to inflict another shock to supply chains around the world. Join GSU-CIBER and Global Atlanta to hear from Murata Electronics North America’s CEO, David Kirk, on how the company is dealing with increasing volatility in high-value industries where the smallest parts can make the biggest impact.
Key takeaways:
-How Murata has diversified its manufacturing locations around the world in partnership with customers and what that has meant for the company’s U.S. operations
-Murata’s approach to continuous improvement in research and development, its moves up the value chain over the last 50 years, and efforts to showcase innovation in relatable ways like robots and other consumer-facing items
-The company’s approach to trade uncertainty and supply chain volatility and how the company balances its Japanese sensibilities, including long-term strategy, with a nimble approach in global markets

IB Webinar Series: “Marketing's Role in the Management of Fast-Evolving Global Supply Chains"
2025-05-08 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Detroit)
In the webinar, the panelist will discuss the roles played by (international) marketing in the management of fast-evolving contemporary global supply chains. The webinar will pay attention to the role of digitalization, industry 4.0 technologies, and emerging institutional environments and regional tensions, for implications for international marketing managers.
Key Takeaways:

International marketing managers should recognize the importance of paying attention to
the fast-evolving environments of their global supply chains.
The speed of changes in the technologies and regional tensions creates an unprecedented level of uncertainties.
Diversifying the network of suppliers and supply chains is key to neutralizing the uncertainties.

This webinar is FREE and open to all, but registration is required.
Zoom details will be sent to all registered participants.

International Business Pedagogy Workshop at GSU
2025-05-28 08:00 - 2025-05-30 17:00 (America/Detroit) | GSU Buckhead Center, 3348 Peachtree Road N.E., Atlanta, GA, 30326, United States
Educators and Doctoral Students,
Are you ready to enhance your teaching skills, boost your research capabilities, and grow professionally? Join us at the 2025 CIBER Pedagogy Workshop on May 28-30, 2025, at Georgia State University’s Buckhead Center! Early Bird Registration ends April 30, 2025.
This immersive event is designed specifically for faculty and PhD students, offering interactive sessions, expert-led lectures, and hands-on activities with top educators and industry leaders. Don’t miss this chance to shape the future of teaching!
• Elevate Your Pedagogy: Discover innovative strategies and practical tools to enhance student engagement.
• Stay Current: Learn about the latest educational trends and technological advancements, including AI integration.
• Global Context: Gain insights on incorporating a global perspective into your business courses.
• Solutions Binder: Leave with a comprehensive booklet of teaching tips, best practices, and valuable resources shared by all
presenters.
• Career Readiness: Learn how to better prepare your students for today’s competitive job market.
The International Business Pedagogy Workshop is a project of the Minority Serving Institution (MSI) Consortium, hosted by GSU-CIBER and sponsored by CIBERs at Florida International University, George Washington University, Indiana University, Michigan State University, Loyola Marymount University, Temple University, Texas A&M University, University of Colorado-Denver and University of Maryland. This program is partially funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

Maximizing Your Brand Protection Investment: Lessons from a Multi-Industry Assessment of Product Counterfeit Risk & Investigative Resourcing
2025-09-26 12:00 - 13:30 (America/Detroit) | https://msu.zoom.us/j/99802409340
This symposium will feature the results of a cutting-edge research project aimed at integrating a total business solution for brand protection with workload and performance-based methodologies for resource optimization. Lessons draw on rare and unique data collected from nearly three-dozen multi-national firms across many industries. This symposium will help brand protection practitioners operating in the global marketplace who struggle to find the proper mix of structure and investment to assess, mitigate and respond to infringement risk, particularly as it relates to staffing and operating a product counterfeit investigations program. This symposium will• describe a total business solution for brand protection,

• summarize the advantages and disadvantages of common approaches to resource allocation
• introduce the concepts of workload demand and staffing supply, and explain their utility for objective, collaborative, inclusive and evidence-based discussions about resource optimization
• demonstrate how to model workforce need to optimize staffing and investment for brand protection
• illustrate how firms are resourcing anti-counterfeit investigations and structuring their programs relative to the use of external contractors
• share results of allocation modeling across firms in multiple industries, offering useful illustrations on variations in risk, workload, staffing and investments
• showcase how allocation modeling supports strategic planning, budgeting, executive leadership team communication, ROI, and forecasting
• offer an opportunity to discuss the application of the findings to those involved in brand protection administration.

This workshop will be valuable to industry practitioners who oversee or are charged with brand and intellectual property protection, and those interested in how analytics can be applied to optimize resources in public or private organizations.
This is a FREE event, but REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.

International Business Webinar Series: "Practical AI Tips for Educators"
2025-10-09 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Detroit)
There are a number of AI tools and resources that can be useful for educators. We will explore some useful ones such as:

Planning engaging AI-powered class activities
Build interactive quizzes, infographics, and simulations with Gemini
Creating artifacts (interactive learning tools) using Claude
Time allowing: Developing alternate modes of learning (podcasts, videos) from lecture notes using NotebookLM; creating interactive flashcards using Kuse.ai; creating presentations using Gamma, Skywork

Takeaways:

Discover practical AI tools that save time and increase teaching efficiency.
Explore ways to create interactive learning materials for students.
Discuss various application examples and resources.

From Exports to Exit: How International Business Can Fuel Startup Success
2025-10-23 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Detroit)
When Sean Casey helped found helicopter parts supplier Rotorcorp, he quickly noticed that companies who deploy these “flying pickup trucks” weren’t confined within U.S. borders. From far-flung fisheries and oil wells to expansive cattle ranches and infrastructure monitoring, Robinson helicopters were being put to use all over the world in a variety of utilitarian, and sometimes unorthodox, applications.
The problem, he soon found, was that those who served them with spare parts were largely focused domestically, and online ordering, if it existed at all, was a far cry from the e-commerce ease most consumers expect in their personal shopping.
Mr. Casey set to work expanding in two interlinked directions: digitizing inventory and improving online sales, while also broadening company’s geographic reach, relying on a variety of freely available resources — and carefully crafted personal relationships — to become an expert in exports.
Rotorcorp achieved liftoff, and Mr. Casey exited the company in early 2025, taking his talents and hard-won international business lessons to Dragon Q Energy, a startup that distributes solar power poles outfitted with batteries to off-grid locations in need of reliable electricity. The company is set to launch a pilot project in Zambia as it raises capital to scale into disaster relief, telecom, commercial and military applications. With this new venture, Mr. Casey is building exports into the strategy at the outset, rather than bolting it on as an afterthought.
Attendees will glean the following takeaways:

How to bring e-commerce solutions and scale to a fragmented legacy industry stuck in analog processes
Lessons on growing globally as a startup, and how international business can boost resiliency, attract capital and accelerate a business sale
How local connections, free resources and commitment to global business can help unlock export success, pairing U.S. strengths with global demand

This webinar is FREE and open to all, but registration is required. Zoom details will be sent to registered participants.

Navigating Uncertainty: Dynamic Capabilities and Entrepreneurial Opportunities in a Volatile World
2025-11-06 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Detroit)
In today’s global business landscape—marked by geopolitical tensions, market instability, and institutional flux—uncertainty has become the norm. Yet for entrepreneurial firms, disruption can also create space for innovation and opportunity. In this webinar, we will present findings from our research with SMEs in China and Tunisia—two emerging markets often characterized by volatility and institutional change. We explore how dynamic capabilities, such as resource reconfiguration, intelligence acquisition, and cross-border coordination, can support firms in navigating disruption through both opportunity creation and discovery. While our data is grounded in specific emerging market contexts, we aim to remain transparent about what our findings can and cannot speak to directly. Rather than drawing universal conclusions, we invite participants to reflect with us on how our theoretical insights may serve as a starting point for broader thinking about strategy, innovation, and resilience in today’s uncertain world. Following a brief presentation, we will facilitate a wider conversation with the audience, exploring timely questions such as: How might geopolitical and institutional shifts open up new “white spaces”—that is, previously unserved or underserved entrepreneurial opportunities? What are the strategic trade-offs between creating and discovering opportunities—and what are the risks of doing both simultaneously? How do cultural distance and globalization shape the boundaries of what firms can pursue?
Takeaways:
1.Turbulence Breeds Opportunity—But Only for the Strategically Prepared. SMEs with dynamic capabilities can uncover “white space” opportunities amid global conflict and trade tension.
2. Creation vs. Discovery: Choose Your Path Wisely. Opportunity creation and discovery require different strategies—doing both at once can hurt performance.
3. Context Matters. Cultural distance and industry globalization strongly influence which strategy will work best.
This webinar is FREE and open to all, but registration is required. Zoom details will be sent to all registered participants.

Research Spotlight Series - Consumer Behavior in a Diverging World: Navigating Demographic Change
2025-11-07 12:00 - 13:30 (America/Detroit)
For this webinar, three international business scholars who have done important work in cross-cultural and international consumer behavior will discuss their perspectives on consumer
behavior in a diverging world, with specific emphasis on navigating demographic change. They will address key research opportunities in this domain and contemporary best practices
necessary for publishing work in this area. This webinar will include short presentations followed by a discussion moderated by the co-hosts; Ahmet Kirca, Michigan State University and David Griffith, Texas A&M University.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
* Learn some of the key cross-cultural consumer
behavior topic areas that are most likely to be effects
by the diverging world
* Gain insights into how the diverging world will
influence key consumer behavior concepts widely
employed in international business research
* Tips related to best practices for publishing research
in leading international business and international
marketing journals
This is a free event, but registration is required.
