International Business Seminars

For the past five years I have been the Director of our Marketing Study Abroad program. We have used IBS for our Marketing Study Abroad trip each of those years and will be using them next summer also. In fact, our department has been using IBS for the past 30 years. We have the longest-continuously-running study abroad program at Texas A&M University, dating back to 1980 when Dr. Brenenstuhl planned and coordinated our first trip, and he has been doing it ever since.

We have been very satisfied with the service we’ve received from Dr. Brenenstuhl and his staff during the years. He is a very bright, very responsible, very experienced, very honest, and very detail-oriented man. His staff at IBS is also excellent. I give IBS my highest recommendation.

Best wishes,
Stephen W. McDaniel, Ph.D.

Professor of Marketing
Director, MS-Marketing Program
Director, Marketing Study Abroad Program 201G Wehner Marketing/Retailing Studies

I have been involved with the program since the 1980s. I personally accompanied the student groups 16 times. My area is international marketing but the trips gave me much more information and contacts. This was very helpful for my lectures and career advisement. The students learned about themselves, how to get along with others, learn about business strategies and in general observe the local culture. Formal readings, presentations and review sessions reinforced what they head and observed. Since we have our own trips for the undergraduates at this time I work with the IBS for our graduate programs.

The program is highly regarded by our administration and students.

Irene Lange, Ph.D.
Chair of Marketing
California State University – Fullerton

My experience with IBS goes back nearly 30 years; indeed I first attended a seminar as a (much younger) MBA student. My faculty experience began in the mid 80’s after completing my Ph.D. at Texas A&M University. To date, I have actively participated in more than 30 seminars with IBS and have found their quality, attention to detail, academic focus, and professional approach to be outstanding.

One of the things that have always separated IBS from other providers is their focus on academic content. Seminars are led by qualified business faculty who add value by helping students integrate business visits with concepts they are learning in the class room. In addition, IBS works closely with faculty in the local institution (Clemson) to be sure that each student is getting the maximum learning experience from the seminar.

In addition, the IBS staff are dedicated and committed to the delivering the best student experience. Their ability to provide a complete seminar from travel to hotels, logistics and, of course, the business visits is unique and well done. In working with hundreds of students over the years I consistently hear how the seminar has changed their life and given them unique insights into today’s competitive global market place.

As you can tell, I believe IBS offers a great experience for the student and an easy to work with, first class operation for the institution.

Best Regards,
Mark W. Johnston, Ph.D.

Alan and Sandra Gerry Professor of Marketing and Ethics
Crummer Graduate School of Business
Rollins College

I would be happy to provide a strong endorsement for International Business Seminars. I have been in the NIU Study Abroad Office since 1986 and I believe we’ve been working with IBS since 1988 (so at least 22 years). The seminars provided by IBS have been the most consistent study abroad opportunities for NIU business students and have always had an NIU College of Business faculty member serving as the faculty liaison/instructor of record.

From the Study Abroad Office standpoint, I am very happy that these seminars are supported by the NIU College of Business thus making this study abroad option available to NIU students. As you know, students have varying needs and goals when it comes to study abroad and these seminars are the perfect solution for many of our students. The seminars offer professional visits, interesting guest speakers, leadership by faculty from various U.S. academic institutions as well as cultural visits and activities. All the while, students also get to visit several different countries and experience a variety of cultures.

The IBS staff consists of professionals in both higher education and the travel industry. So in addition to the solid academic component, the seminars are meticulously planned based on years and years of experience and connections made with businesses, hotels, airlines, etc. The IBS staff’s customer service skills are excellent and I always look forward to the opportunity to speak to any member of the staff because they are always friendly and helpful.

The student evaluations we ask each student to complete after their seminar are always glowing. If a student does have an issue while on the seminar then there is an excellent support system in place to deal with anything that comes along. The students work hard while on these seminars, yet they also are given sufficient time to enjoy the culture and beauty of each city.

Regards,

Anne Seitzinger
Director, Study Abroad Office
Northern Illinois University

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We have been working with IBS for a long time at NIU and I have been involved with the program for the past 3+ years.

Our program has experienced strong growth. In 2012, 52 students participated in one of the IBS seminars, and we are very pleased with all aspects of the program.

Dan Brenenstuhl has decades of experience running study abroad seminars and it is evident based on the quality of the program. He provides a minute-by-minute (almost) itinerary for the seminars with all the necessary details for the students to enjoy the seminar and for the faculty leaders to be successful. The business visits are first-class and the students are amazed and appreciative of the opportunity to interact with high-level executives. The program also provides a great balance between business visits, cultural visits, and free time for individual exploration.

We use their open seminars because I feel it allows us the greatest flexibility of seminar options, eliminates scary minimum or maximum thresholds, gives the students the extra benefit of interacting with students from other Universities, and it provides me flexibility in terms of how often to personally run the seminars. That’s my argument for the open seminars, but I am sure that universities that choose a closed seminar will receive many of the same benefits.

Finally, an essay that I received from a student is probably the best argument for the value of IBS that I can think of. It gives me goose bumps and brings a few tears every time I read it. (ADD LINK)

Thanks,
Peter Magnusson, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of International Marketing
College of Business
(Formerly of) Northern Illinois University

As a faculty member associated with IBS for three years, I continue to be delighted at the rapid development that occurs in students when they are immersed in a new culture or several new cultures through an IBS program. Visiting companies in the big business capitals of Europe or China is quite a rare opportunity. How good does it look on a students’ resumes when they have been, for example, to speak with executives at Lloyd’s of London or BMW in Munich? It is invaluable, especially in the competitive world of the new business school graduate. I see the excitement in students as they enroll in an IBS program, prepare for it, and then are on the program (sometimes with me accompanying them!) Whether preparing for a shorter IBS program or a longer one, students get incredibly excited and passionate about the cultures that they visit. Also, IBS provides not only a life-changing broadening of horizons, but practicality as well, since students get business credit at their home institution for the experience—what a terrific advantage. When my Murray State travelers return home, I ask them if it was worth it. A resounding “absolutely loved it—want to do it again” is what I have heard 100% of the time.

Best regards,
Joy Roach, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Business Administration
College of Business
Murray State University

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I was the representative at Murray State University for International Business Seminars for nearly 10 years. MSU has participated with IBS for nearly three decades total. IBS continues to be the most popular study abroad program in our College of Business. It is a very unique program as it combines 3 things: (1) visiting the major business and cultural centers of Europe; (2) visiting international companies and government agencies and interacting with high-level executives while touring the facilities; and (3) receiving 3 hours upper-level international business credit.

I believe that the IBS program offers a high level of academic rigor and integrity. Each seminar is led by experienced international faculty from the US schools who participate in the program. Students are evaluated on a number of factors including citizenship, participation in the visits and discussion, and a research paper describing the experiences of the students in the different countries, cities, and business visits. In the paper the students are asked to summarize and rate each business visit and research one company in depth.

IBS offers other benefits to the students as well. For many MSU students, IBS is their first experience in travelling abroad. IBS allows them to experience several different cultures in a short period of time. The Winter trips are especially popular at MSU because they fit in with our Christmas break. Also, there is considerable free time for the students to check out the sites in each city.

While the seminars are somewhat expensive (the students are living like international business people), the prices include almost all the total expenses. I have never had a student complain afterwards that they did not receive value for their money. A typical remark is that “the trip was worth every penny.”

Best regards,
Sam McNeely

Senior Lecturer in Marketing
College of Business
(Formerly of) Murray State University

I’ve been familiar with IBS since 1988, and at the business school at CLU we heavily rely on them for both graduate and undergraduate academic travel seminars. Though CLU has a well-developed Study Abroad operation (which also helps to design and implemented travel seminars for various departments), when it comes to IBS, there is no way the business school could come close to the logistical expertise, access to senior executives, consistent staffing with qualified faculty from a variety of academic institutions, and attention to detail that characterizes IBS (itself founded and governed by a recently-retired academic from Arizona State University).

Some may think that “anyone can put together a travel seminar.” While, on the face, this may appear as such, I’ve witnessed it being attempted by many and successfully achieved by only a few. Almost amusingly, I’ve occasionally seen some universities who had been long-time IBS participants decide that “they can do it themselves, perhaps less expensively.” Most of the time that I have witnessed this occurrence, it isn’t too many travel cycles later that the institution returns to IBS. IBS has the volume, the clout, the decades of experience, and the staffing to respond to any logistical challenge, academic imperative, or both.

The academic quality is excellent and paramount. Students are expected to prepare and conduct themselves as informed business professionals, with timely appearance, attentive demeanor, and enthusiastic participation in all facets of the program. Though readings are provided before the seminars begin (and during) the seminars, at CLU we augment the built-in academic component with some rather substantive additional requirements (though I’m not sure that this is really necessary, as IBS, itself, requires the students to engage in some pre-departure research).

I realize that this may sound like a commercial for IBS. The truth is that I’m a real fan, but so are many of my colleagues here at CLU and others I’ve come to know along the way. Much of this has to do with the comments that that are provided by the students when they return, which are, without exception, enthusiastically supportive, if not superlative: “The best thing I’ve done since coming to CLU,” and “Meeting with senior executives and discovering that they DO the things we’re taught in class is phenomenal” are frequent examples. As is evident, I’m a fan.

All the best,
Harry A. Domicone, Ph.D.

Professor of Business Administration, and
Director, Full-Time MBA Program
CLU School of Business
California Lutheran University

Clarion University of PA has been affiliated with the International Business Seminars since the early 1980’s. I became involved in the program in 1985, and am currently one of three faculty in our College of Business who teach and travel within the program. We offer course credit for the IBS program at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.

Throughout our relationship I believe that academic quality and rigor has been quite appropriate, and is considerably more rigorous than some other, more recent, offerings involving international study and travel. Our students must meet certain prerequisites for enrolling in the seminar, and we follow the IBS program in the awarding of grades and credit for the experience (with certain internal reviews and adjustments as we deem necessary).

Student interest in the program was quite high when it first started, but has leveled off in recent years at a lower number of participating students.

One nice aspect of the IBS relationship is that no minimum number of students is necessary for a school to become involved. There are typically 5-6 “open” seminars in either summer or winter that include students from a number of colleges and universities. We have had seminars with several students and a faculty member in attendance (in the initial years sometimes reaching 30-35 students) and some seminars where only one Clarion student, and no Clarion faculty, participated. The open seminars accommodate that varying interest. As you are probably aware, some universities book an entire trip with their students, and have it led by their faculty. Our size has never allowed us to pursue that alternative.

My experience with the folks at IBS has been nothing but positive, and reviews from students who attend the seminars has been similarly positive.

The Administration at Clarion University also values our relationship and is pleased that our affiliation continues. My experience is that the IBS people run a quality program. If you are considering a credit based travel/study abroad program, I believe you would be well served to establish a relationship with them.

Best regards,
Jeff Eicher, Ph.D.

Professor of Finance
Clarion University of Pennsylvania