Business course links students worldwide

For Rod Matthews, senior lecturer in the School of Business, staying calm about his new Web-based international business course seems as hard as driving a Dodge Viper in rush-hour traffic.

Words tumble out in a torrent as he describes the new course he’s been teaching this semester in the School of Business. “We’re at the beginning of a whole new era of international business education,” he says, “and we’re out of the paradigm of textbooks and physical classrooms. That’s why it’s so exciting.”

Matthews pauses, takes a breath, tries to slowly sum it up: “This is a four-university, four-continent course where students work together on real-world international business projects.”

Matthews – recently named Wisconsin Real Estate Alumni Association Distinguished Scholar for teaching excellence – teaches a one-credit course on Web-based International Business Team Projects. On the UW–Madison end, the class is divided into three five-member teams, each paired with a student team at Università Bocconi in Milan, Italy; Pontificia Universidad Catôlica in Santiago, Chile; and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Each university also has participating faculty members.

The teams are linked through a Web site that includes a live chat room where students can “talk” to each other. The language used by all teams is English.

The course finale will girdle the globe: a Dec. 3 video teleconference linking students in Madison, Milan, Santiago and Hong Kong.

Many of the students plan to spend the spring semester studying at the institution they’re teamed with in the course.

“There is no other model like this in business education,” says Matthews, as animated as ever. “We’re using technology to reach out and think through ideas together, which is the challenge of international business.

“Technology helps us cut through obstacles to exchanging ideas, such as inertia, tradition and travel problems. After all, students can’t call Italy or Chile or Hong Kong every day, but they can send e-mail there 10 times a day if they want.”

Matthews’ course was created through the Center for International Business Education and Research and the School of Business. Other course funding came from International Academic Programs.

Matthews’ course infuses students with different perspectives that together create a clearer picture of international business. And that “everybody” quality pleases Matthews pedagogically.

“Education should be ecumenical,” he says, “and technology used this way helps everyone become a participant.”