Hamilton International Middle School
UW Business School's Global Business Challenge

Apr. 14, 2004

On Wed., Apr. 14, the University of Washington’s Global Business Challenge participants engaged students at Hamilton International Middle School in a cultural exchange and discussion of global trade issues. These university students, representing 16 different business schools from around the world, worked in small teams teaching eight different middle school classes about the factors impacting trade.
The event began with a welcoming assembly and introduction to HIMS. Students from each of the international business schools then presented Mr. Acena and the administrative team with books and gifts from their country. The university students then broke into small teams and were escorted to classrooms by HIMS students. Each of the university business school students gave a brief presentation about their country and culture, discussing geography, famous sites, important characteristics, and types of goods produced. Postcards of each country were given to the classes.
Then the focus was on world trade issues. What kinds of things impact trade? (Transportation? Taxes? Location? Perishability? Strikes? Exchange rates?) What kinds of goods are imported into Seattle? How do shipping costs affect the decision to import?

The University of Washington Business School's Global Business Challenge is an annual international case competition that brings together undergraduate university students from the United States and 12 - 14 other countries to compete in a fast-paced and challenging business case study. This week-long event provides students a chance to build cross-cultural relationships, experience the city of Seattle and most importantly, participate in a real-world case study to analyze and develop a business recommendation within 48 hours. Their visit to Hamilton International Middle School gives them an opportunity to share their knowledge and get firsthand experience with a local pubic school.

Participating universities were:

Copenhagen Business School, Denmark Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC
D. Tsenov Academy of Economics, Bulgaria Thammasat University, Thailand
Georgetown University, Washington, DC Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi, Italy
Grenoble Ecole de Management, France Universität Kaiserslautern, Germany
Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, People's Republic of China University of Auckland Business School, New Zealand
McGill University, Montreal, Quebec University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
National University of Singapore, Singapore University of São Paulo, Brazil
Seoul National University, Republic of Korea University of Washington

The winners of the 2004 Global Business Challenge were from The University of Auckland Business School. Congratulations to the New Zealand team!

The Global Business Challenge is sponsored and facilitated by University of Washington Business School's Global Business Center and produced by students of the Certificate of International Studies in Business (CISB) Program.

THANK YOU GLOBAL BUSINESS CHALLENGE PARTICIPANTS AND ORGANIZERS!

The Global Business Challenge is sponsored and facilitated by the University of Washington Business School's Global Business Center and produced by students of the Certificate of International Studies in Business (CISB) Program.  Corporate sponsorship for this year's event includes The Boeing Company, ConocoPhillips, Costco Wholesale, Expeditors, Ford Motor Company, Microsoft Corporation, Starbucks Coffee Company, and Washington First International Bank.

And, thanks to Ms. Sandler, Mr. Martinson, Mr. Maggart, Mr. McEvoy, Ms. Frisino, Ms. Rody, Ms. Veit, and Mr. Docter for having their third period classes participate in this program.

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