As the University of Nevada, Reno College of Business and its Business Student Council host the fifth annual Business Week Sept. 17 – 21, the College turns its attention to global connections and economic development.
A highlight of the week is the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the College and the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (Tec de Monterrey) campus in Chihuahua, Mexico at an invitation-only ceremony early Monday evening, followed by a presentation from the dean of research and development at that institution, Antonio Rios Ramirez. Ramirez’ presentation, “New Skills for a Globalized World,” is free and open to the public and begins at 7 p.m. in the University’s Joe Crowley Student Union Theatre.
Ramirez is also president of the Mexican Confederation of Sales and Marketing Executives. He has been a management consultant for various companies in Mexico and the United States and has participated in strategic business planning for many companies, the state and municipal governments, authoring the book, Strategic Opportunity Identification for the Development of the State of Chihuahua.
Greg Mosier, dean of the University of Nevada, Reno College of Business, said there are some similarities between the two colleges and communities, and the partnership presents an opportunity to get Nevada’s students and residents thinking globally.
“The State of Chihuahua has overcome some challenges and managed to transform much of its economy in recent years,” he said. “While traditional sectors such as agriculture and mining remain a major source of activity, Chihuahua has evolved into the Mexican state with the highest number of manufacturing jobs and third-highest number of manufacturing plants in the country.”
Mosier said that Tec de Monterrey’s business programs in innovation and entrepreneurship complement those at the University of Nevada, Reno, are rigorous and focus on new venture creation. He said the partnership between the two institutions will provide enhanced activities and a healthy, continuing exchange of ideas that should benefit students and faculty, as well as the business communities of northern Nevada and Chihuahua. He said the partnership also helps further the goals of the Imagine 2020 initiative, which the College began in 2009 to increase student and faculty diversity, not only within the College of Business, but campuswide. Today, the University is also hosting a Town Hall on College Hall on College Affordability and the Hispanic Community, featuring U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
Continuing with an emphasis on economic development later in the week, on Sept. 21, the College will host the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties for a campus tour highlighting the programs and services the University has to offer to businesses interested in operating in northern Nevada. In the morning, the group will hear from University President Marc Johnson, Mosier and representatives from the College’s Nevada Small Business Development Center and Center for Regional Studies. Then, they will tour select programs at the College of Engineering, College of Science, University of Nevada Medical School and Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center. They will wrap up their tour with a luncheon outside of Mackay Stadium.
Other Business Week events include career-exploration roundtables, career workshops, resume-writing workshops, a professional and graduate school fair, a volunteer fair, an economic forum and more. For more information on Business Week activities, go to http://www.unr.edu/business/
