Education with a Purpose

GLOBAL SCALE LEARNING

The University of San Diego is one of three schools in the U.S. that offers study abroad experiences through a Student International Business Council (SIBC).

The SIBC is the only privately endowed, student-run council on campus. Open to undergraduates of all majors, the council’s mission is to empower students through the ethical advancement of commerce by developing leadership, entrepreneurial ability and global interaction with a vision of peace through commerce.

“I’m so happy to see students take the SIBC seriously and the pressing need for peaceful co-existence. I see our students playing an integral role in keeping the peace,” says Frank Potenziani, SIBC’s benefactor at the only three universities where it exists: Notre Dame, USD and Benedictine College in Kansas.

“This is a unique learning experience for students. A globally minded education empowers them with tools and methods to positively transform lives and communities. Our students then sustainably
create value for business and society,” says USD School of Business Dean Jaime Alonso Gómez. “The SIBC is education with a purpose.”

New projects emerge each semester. In Fall 2017, one such project was a marketing campaign for a global pharmaceutical conference hosted by Vector Pharma in Mexico City.

“I learned a lot about my own personal leadership style,” says Zeyna Alfi ‘18. “I was leading our seven-person group. They brought in the president of the biggest pharmaceutical organization in Mexico, which set expectations even higher.”

She and her fellow students presented ways to market Asia and Europe contacts through different communication methods. “We gave them the tools, resources and apps to make their marketing much more efficient.”

“The lessons last a lifetime,” says associate dean and economics professor Stephen Conroy. “Working on consulting projects provides a window into how people in other parts of the world conduct business. Experiential learning is deep learning.”