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FDIB

Faculty Development in International Business


Woodward and Rolfe in Africa
Moore School professors Doug Woodward (above left) and Rob Rolfe (above right), guided faculty on the FDIB-Africa program, which was conducted in Kenya and South Africa. It included more than two dozen business visits, cultural experiences, and academic visits and lectures. The participants also went on a safari at the Kenyan Maasai Mara game preserve.
The SC CIBER has sponsored the Faculty Development in International Business (FDIB) programs for 20 years, covering a wide variety of international business topics in locations throughout the world. The SC CIBER conducts two FDIB programs at its Columbia, SC, campus in June of each year, and, as a member of several CIBER consortia, either sponsors or co-sponsors five other overseas FDIB programs.

FDIB:  Domestic Programs
Annual FDIB seminars are week-long seminars—Global Supply Chain Management, International Accounting, International Finance, International Management, International Marketing, and Survey of International Business—attended by about 60 faculty members from CIBER and non-CIBER schools.

The annual FDIB Spanish Workshop is a week-long course that provides Spanish-language faculty with the expertise and knowledge to teach Spanish
specifically for use in international business settings.

FDIB:  Overseas Programs
FDIB-Africa:  Understanding the Business Challenges of Africa:  Kenya and South Africa

In May 2007, SC CIBER conducted its 1st annual FDIB-Africa program,
focusing on Kenya and South Africa. The educational trip combined more than two dozen business visits, cultural experiences, and academic visits and lectures
(including Pretoria University in South Africa and Utali College in Kenya). During the 18-day journey, Dr. Doug Woodward, director of the Division of Research and professor of economics, and Dr. Robert Rolfe, professor of international business and an expert on Africa, introduced faculty to, or enhanced their knowledge of, the business, academic, and cultural world of sub-Saharan Africa.

Business highlights included visits to Coca-Cola (Nairobi Bottlers), AIDS research, KickStart (non-profit organization), Export Processing Zone companies (garment, dartboard, and tanning industries) in Kenya, South African breweries (SAB Miller), Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Vodacom, and embassy and diamond mine visits in South Africa. Eco-tourism highlights included a safari in the Kenyan Maasai Mara game preserve and a visit to Pilanesberg, South Africa.

SC CIBER co-sponsors these FDIB overseas programs:
•    FDIB: India: New Delhi and Agra   
•    FDIB: China and Hong Kong
•    FDIB: Mercosur (Southern Common Market agreement):  Brazil, Argentina, and Chile
•    FDIB: Croatia, Bulgaria, and Czech Republic