Maryland Smith Hosts Fourth Annual Global Showcase Competition

Santiago Luna, the coordinator for the Center for Global Business at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business, writes about the Global Showcase held on February 14, 2019.

Over 120 recently returned study abroad students participated in the Fourth Annual Global Showcase on February 14, 2019. The Center for Global Business (CGB) hosted the poster exhibition in a “gallery-style” walk in the 1400 and 1500 atriums of Van Munching Hall from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. This was an opportunity for students to engage the Smith community and showcase their global learning from their winter faculty-led, short-term study abroad programs. The students participated in one of five study abroad programs to the following locations: Australia and New Zealand; France and Morocco; Japan; South Africa; U.K., France and Italy.

The global showcase is the final academic piece of the students’ study abroad course and a part of the overall common core curriculum for faculty-led, short-term undergraduate programs. The students’ posters are a culmination of their global experience, providing them the opportunity to prepare a professional presentation in one of five categories: 1) comparative business analysis; 2) effects of culture on business; 3) enterprise and innovation; 4) opportunities and challenges for U.S. businesses; and 5) digital trade and AI.

This fifth category was new for 2019 in recognition of both the changing business landscape toward digitization. It is also the research theme of the center’s renewed Title VI CIBE grant.

A panel of 17 judges had the difficult task of assessing the poster presentations during the designated judging period from noon to 2 p.m. Student presentations were judged based on their knowledge, professionalism, visual presentation, and their ability to thoroughly field questions. This year’s participating judges included faculty and staff from the Smith School and other departments.

Students at the global showcase learned from their peers across different programs and demonstrated their global learning to the wider Smith community. This year’s global showcase introduced a new concept by creating a “gallery style” to display the students’ posters. With a total of 28 posters on display, both atriums were transformed with accompanying décor. Attendees were invited to cast their vote for a “fan favorite” poster where over 200 ballots were counted.

On February 15, 2019, the winning teams were announced via email to the entire Smith School community. Each winning team received $500, and the “fan favorite” team received Rocketbook Everlast Smart notebooks.

“The global showcase is one of the center’s signature events. It provides students the opportunity to share their global mindset with the rest of the Smith community and allows us to see their experience truly come to life,” says Rebecca Bellinger, executive director, CGB. “Every year we are impressed by the students’ professionalism and global business savvy and this year was no different. We are especially delighted to have been able to share the posters in this new gallery-style format which allowed for maximum exposure.”

2019 Global Showcase Winners:

Comparative business analysis — Team 5: “A Tale of Two Countries”
Sam Tirone, Matthew Anthony, Eunisa Lu, Carlos Richardson, Jennifer Shorb, Jessica Cronin

Effects of culture on business —Team 11: “@to.kyo.to”
Alexander Leipold, Seth Kujawa, Lexi Paidas, Namrita Perincherry, Harrison Tzou

Enterprise and innovation — Team 22: “Ishishini Kunye Nokutsha”
Allison Criswell, Nicholas Fabbroni, Aiden Henry, Ethan Parker

Opportunities and challenges for U.S. businesses — Team 7: “From Eagle Nests to Kiwi Burrow: Invest in New Zealand Hospitality”
Yo Sasatomi, Molly Carroll, Elizabeth Childs, Jeffrey Klepper, Elizabeth Malloy, Peter Sorensen, Mahlet Tadesse

Fan favorite — Team 14: "Hospitality and Culture: Where Moroccan Hospitality Meets Business”
Hannah Shraim, Jilli Hao, Omar Joyce, Konstantinos Nakas, Lilly Ding.

Congratulations to all of the winners, and thank you to all the participants and attendees.

Learn more about global programs at the Smith School.

Special thanks to the following team of judges:

Allison Schwarz, Arnie Greenland, Brian Horick, Chris Dax, Courtney Bigger, Eugene Cantor, Gerald          Suarez, Jeff Miller, Jonathan  Southgate, Kim Robertella Glinka, Kislaya Prasad, Kunpeng Zhang, Lauren Ruszczyk, Patricia Reich, Protiti   Dastidar, Ramsey G. Jabaji and Rebecca Winner.

Additional thanks to the staff/faculty members who led this year’s programs:

Pamela Armstrong, David Ashley, Claudia Donnelly, James McKinney, Victor Mullins, Greg Rafal, Chris Rehkamp, Oliver Schlake, Jeanette Snider, and Mark Wellman.

This event was made possible in part by a Title VI grant known as CIBE provided by the U.S. Department of Education.