Join expert Jon M. Huntsman, Jr, former US Ambassador to Russia, China and Singapore,in the national conversation of US-China relations!

Jon Huntsman, Jr. began his career in public service as a staff assistant to President

Ronald Reagan, and served each of the five presidents since then in critical roles around

the world, including as deputy assistant secretary of commerce for Asia, U.S. trade

ambassador, and ambassador to Singapore, China, and most recently, Russia. Twice

elected governor of Utah, Governor Huntsman brought about strong economic and tax

reforms, tripled the states rainy-day fund, and helped bring unemployment rates to

historic lows. During his tenure, Utah was named the best-managed state in America and

ranked number one in the nation in job growth.

Ambassador Huntsman was a candidate for president in 2012. Previously he chaired or

served on the boards of several major companies, educational institutions, and nonprofits.

He has been a visiting fellow at the Kennedy School of Government, and a

distinguished lecturer at Duke Universitys Sanford School of Public Policy. Huntsman is a

seventh generation Utahn and has been married for 36 years to Mary Kaye Huntsman. They

are the parents of seven children, including two adopted daughters from China and India.

Huntsman is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and has ten honorary doctoral

degrees.

Registration in the website link.

A key concern in business education is creating solid and sustained bridges between school and career. Career readiness remains a central focus and challenge. Recent studies by Pew Research points to the lack of preparedness of college graduates for the workplace and the need for novel approaches in what we teach, and how we teach it, to address the skills gap. In international business, partnerships and virtual exchange are increasingly valuable ingredients in developing the skills required of todays global managers. Using selected virtual exchange projects with partners in North and South Africa, we discuss how global competencies, cultural awareness, and international virtual-teaming skills can be imparted as integral aspects of an international business curriculum. The three panelists representing academic and business groups will describe their roles in designing and implementing these collaborative cross-border projects, their value to different stakeholders, including students and employers, and propose ways to assess and sustain these career readiness, impactful initiatives.

Key Takeaways

Conceiving, implementing and assessing team-based, virtual exchange projects, involving international partners.

Leveraging academic-business partnerships to ensure career relevant virtual exchange initiatives for students.

Identifying funding sources for signature international business projects.