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International MBA Students Begin Program in Mexico

International MBA students begin program in Mexico by helping a Women’s Cooperative
Developing team-building and business skills while contributing to communities

The International Master of Business Administration(IMBA) program at the University of San Diego, which integrates a minimum of two required opportunities to study abroad into the curriculum, began in mid-August with their first course, “Leading Multicultural Teams and Organizations,” with Dr. Phil Hunsker. The group stayed in a small town outside of Tecate, Mexico where one activity included a team building exercise of assembling beehives for the Proyecto Apicultura Communitaria, which is a Mexicali Women’s Beehive Cooperative. This cooperative, started by a small group of women to help support their families through beekeeping, was started 10 years ago by receiving a small micro-credit loan from Los Niños, a NGO that focuses on community development in the border region. Although still a small business, they are successfully producing honey and creating a thriving enterprise. The IMBA students were able to learn important team-building skills, while assisting the women’s cooperative with needed beehives to expand their production.

 The IMBA course held in Mexico also included a visit to the Tecate brewery where the students were able to see another side of international business activities at a large world-class production facility. Sergio Rodríguez Garza, Director of the Tecate Plant of Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma, S.A. commented that “it is exciting to see an MBA program taking advantage of our shared border to discuss with us some of the challenges and opportunities of international trade and also engage in activities to support a small Mexican company. These students are gaining a wide perspective.”

This year’s starting class of IMBA students is made up of participants that have an average of four years of full-time work experience from all corners of the world. Although the class consists of 30% international students, even the U.S. students have lived, studied or worked outside of the U.S.A. The IMBA program requires that all participants speak a language other than English and take courses outside of the USA. In January the IMBA students will also be required to participate in an international practicum (consulting) project either in Brazil, Argentina, India or China. A variety of other optional international learning experiences are available to the students and many take advantage of these programs organized by the Ahlers Center for International Business.

The IMBA is designed for individuals interested in leadership roles in international businesses or organizations. “Having competency in a second language implies depth of understanding a culture other than your own, and prepares you to be have greater appreciation of the various economic, political, institutional and cultural environments in which international business is conducted, “ said Denise Dimon, Ph.D., director of the Ahlers Center for International Business. “Language competency, in addition to experience working and living in other cultures better prepares our students to develop the needed skills as well as a global mindset required to succeed in the international marketplace.” The IMBA is a full-time program that can be completed in 12 or 16 months.

For additional information please contact imba@sandiego.edu