San Diego State University Announces New MBA in Global Entrepreneurship

QUALCOMM, Invitrogen, Microsoft, Intel and KPMG partner with the College of Business Administration

Contacts:
Randy Carmical, Director of Communications, SDSU College of Business Admin.
(619) 594-0206 Randy.Carmical@sdsu.edu

Liz Newman or Indra Gardiner, Bailey Gardiner, Inc.
(619) 295-8232, liz@baileygardiner.com  

New York – November 15, 2006 - San Diego State University College of Business Administration (SDSU CBA) today announced a first of its kind MBA program in Global Entrepreneurship. The announcement was made at the Marriott Marquis in New York City, where corporate partners, representatives from international universities and industry experts participated in a panel discussion on global business, cultural learning and the need to educate managers who are conducting business internationally. This innovative degree takes students around the world to four different countries as they study in a one-year, comprehensive program that shows them in a hands-on environment how international business is conducted. Corporate partners QUALCOMM, Invitrogen, Microsoft, Intel and KPMG have joined with SDSU CBA to give students real-world experiences of how companies operate in different countries, as well as expose them to current issues and trends within each corporate sector.

“This program is the wave of the MBA future,” said SDSU CBA Dean Gail Naughton, an entrepreneur and pioneer in the field of tissue engineering. “By bringing together key growth industries and universities located in emerging countries, along with industry leaders who will share “best practices” in globalization, we will give our students the knowledge and skills to effectively conduct business in the global arena.”

Students begin their study with six weeks in San Diego and then travel for 12-week blocks to each partner university in China, India and the Middle East, finishing their last six weeks in San Diego. SDSU has established partnerships with the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow (NOIDA campus); University of Hyderabad; United Arab Emirates Higher Colleges of
Technology (HCT); American University of Beirut and is currently negotiating partnerships with universities in China. For each MBA cohort, the partner university will be determined based on academic strengths, student interest and academic calendar.

At each campus, the students form relationships with their peers who are studying in the partner universities’ MBA programs to develop a global network of business contacts. Corporate partner executives lecture on keys to success in cross-cultural business experiences, and students travel to their local operations centers to see how the strategies they are learning in the classroom are implemented in the workplace at locations such as manufacturing plants and research centers.

“We believe that it is important for leaders to have a global perspective and an understanding about how to operate in the global marketplace,” said Dr. Irwin Mark Jacobs, chairman and founder of QUALCOMM. “SDSU CBA has created a program that will enable students to have a greater understanding of cultural and business differences around the world.”

QUALCOMM, Invitrogen, Microsoft, Intel and KPMG represent the wireless, biotech, high tech and financial advisory business sectors that are experiencing tremendous growth in the global market. Each company has operations in the countries where SDSU students will travel to study. As the capstone project to the program, teams of students will work with executives from the industry of their choice to provide solutions to a current business problem.

Leonard Lavin, founder and chairman of Alberto-Culver Corporation, noted business author of Winners Make it Happen and SDSU’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence said, "When my company began expanding into international markets, it became clear that what worked for our brands in the U.S. was not necessarily going to work everywhere. It quickly became important for our executives to understand how specific brands within our consumer products line crossed cultural boundaries. They needed to know how local business is conducted in whatever region they were penetrating and, generally, how international markets responded differently. An entrepreneurial focus is one of the keys to success in our company and this is particularly true in international situations where the ability to spot market opportunities and respond to them quickly is key. The Global Entrepreneurship MBA program at SDSU is the type of program that can help corporations give their employees a global edge. I know from experience that you can't understand a new foreign market in two-weeks. It takes time immersed in the culture, working side by side with those who understand the market, to gain that level of understanding. That is what SDSU's program is trying to accomplish and that is what truly makes this educational experience of value to business."

The first class is scheduled to begin in fall 2007.  Further information and prospective student inquiries should be directed to http://gemba.sdsu.edu.

About the College of Business Administration - Leadership for the Global Marketplace.
With over 6,000 students, the San Diego State University College of Business is one of the largest business schools in the U.S. U.S. News & World Report ranks its program in international business and graduate entrepreneurship among the top programs in the country. For more information, visit www.sdsu.edu/business.  

About SDSU
San Diego State University is the oldest and largest higher education institution in the San Diego region. Since it was founded in 1897, the university has grown to offer bachelor’s degrees in 81 areas, master’s degree in 72 areas and doctorates in 16 areas. SDSU’s 33,000 students participate in an academic curriculum distinguished by direct contact with faculty and an increasing international emphasis that prepares them for a global future. For more information, visit www.sdsu.edu.