Have you traveled out of the country yet? According to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ “Talent Mobility 2020” report, annual international assignments will increase by 50 percent between now and 2020, having already increased by 25 percent over the last 10 years. There’s no question that having global perspective is essential in today’s business environment. The Cameron School of Business is devoted to making many different channels accessible to its students, faculty and staff, and community. The Cameron School sends more than 150 students abroad each year through different initiatives.
 
Besides semester-long study abroad endeavors, other short-term trips abroad include applied learning ventures such as the Prague Consulting Project. Each March, Cameron students who are studying finance and marketing travel to the Czech Republic to work as consultants for a local business. This year’s students worked for Hamleys Toy Shop, which recently expanded into the Prague marketplace. These trips have longer lasting effects than one week. By the end of this year’s assignment, Hamleys was so impressed with the work of these students that it offered two internships.
 
While Cameron School recognizes the value of sending its students overseas, UNCW also works diligently to bring international students to the United States. The university's International MBA degree (a part of the International Business School Alliance) makes it possible for students to earn dual master’s degrees in one year while spending a semester abroad at a partner university. Similarly, approximately 40 students participate in the TABSA (TransAtlantic Business School Alliance) Exchange Program each year. These students spend two years completing intensive study at their home business school and the final two years expanding their knowledge at the Cameron School of Business. UNCW is regularly the host university to students from Germany, France, Spain and the United Kingdom as a part of the program. Additionally, Cameron hosted the annual IBSA (International Business School Alliance) Conference this June, inviting faculty from four different countries to collaborate on ideas, curriculum and innovation on the UNCW campus.
 
A newer global initiative includes graduate students from Turkey. During the summer of 2015, MBA students from Yeditepe University in Istanbul took courses in international management and marketing through the Swain Center as part of a partnership between Cameron School of Business and Yeditepe University. Twenty-six Turkish students participated in the three-week program, and this year, CSB will be welcoming 21 more. There are plans to expand this platform to send CSB students to Turkey in the future.
 
Having an international perspective is crucial to business-focused students as companies continue to expand globally and are looking for talent to bridge the cultural gaps. In fact, the Institute of International Education found through its survey of CEOs that 60 percent of their organizations’ hiring and promotion strategies pursued and rewarded recruits who have acquired international experience through study abroad. For more information on the initiatives mentioned or for other global opportunities at the Cameron School of Business, visit www.csb.uncw.edu/global.
 
Robert T. Burrus, Jr., Ph.D., is the dean of the Cameron School of Business at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, named in June 2015. Burrus joined the UNCW faculty in 1998. Prior to his current position, Burrus was interim dean, associate dean of undergraduate studies and the chair of the department of economics and finance. Burrus earned a Ph.D. and a master’s degree in economics from the University of Virginia and a bachelor’s degree in mathematical economics from Wake Forest University. The Cameron School of Business has approximately 60 full-time faculty members and 20 administrative and staff members. The AACSB-accredited business school currently enrolls approximately 2,000 undergraduate students in three degree programs and 200 graduate students in four degree programs. The school also houses the prestigious Cameron Executive Network, a group of more than 200 retired and practicing executives that provide one-on-one mentoring for Cameron students. To learn more about the Cameron School of Business, please visit http://csb.uncw.edu/. Questions and comments can be sent to [email protected].