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Business & Culture

A Virtual Practicum

The Business & Culture virtual exchange program has now concluded. The program reached 496 students, including 154 from Michigan and 342 from the MENA region. The program ran five times from 2020–2023. The program was supported by a grant from the Stevens Initiative.

Faculty Perspectives Report
Student Perspectives Report

Solve Problems, Build Skills—
Across Cultures

Business & Culture was a virtual exchange program on international business cultures that connected students from Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, and the USA. Participants problem-solved and collaborated in a global team environment.

The program was open to undergraduates at the University of Michigan, the American University in Cairo, the American University of Beirut, and students from various universities in Libya.

The program equipped young people in the U.S. and Middle East North Africa (MENA) regions with the skills they needed to communicate, problem-solve, and collaborate in a global team environment—essential 21st century skills in an interconnected world. Learn more about the program here.

The program was organized by the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan. For more information, contact wdi-virtual@umich.edu.

Students On Virtual Exchange

“You will make friendships with different people from different cultures and backgrounds from you, so you will face many problems and you will have to solve them to make your idea succeed, and this will help you in accepting and respecting others opinions, which will make a great impact on your life.”

—DiaaEldien Ahmed Abdalfatah Yousef Behary
Egyptian student

“Having the chance to work on a team, exchange ideas, and learn from your team members is a unique opportunity.”

—Mira Ruder-HookU-M student

“It is cool to see how the students go to class and look the same way, but I enjoy learning the differences between cultures at the root level.”

—Karla Bell U-M Ross student

“The frameworks and the general mindset that is being taught in this course will definitely help me with my personal and professional path in a globalized world. It gave me confidence that I can interact with everyone around the globe on a personal and professional level.”

—Eric Wagner U-M Ross exchange student

“I enjoyed being in an environment that challenged my knowledge of cultures, something I have rarely willingly done for myself.”

—Sage Chen
U-M Ross student

“I have never had to work with students outside of my University, let alone outside of my country. The experience of working through a case with people who I have never met in person and whose culture is different from my own has been very exciting and challenging.”

—Agnieszka Zajac
U-M Ross student