UA and UP Students Participate in Global Trade Simulation

Fifty-four Eller students enrolled in the Global Business Program traveled to Jalisco, Mexico, to collaborate on a global trade simulation with students from Universidad Panamericana this semester.

The students attended an initial welcome session and took part in several business visits, then collaborated with the UP students on the trade simulation. The students took on the role of different countries to create products that they would expect to have demand for other nations. “It was really interesting working with the UP students and seeing their thought processes differed from UA students,” MIS major Alexandra Gomez said.

Afterwards, the students took part in an online simulation and a representative from the U.S. Consulate gave a presentation to the class. She talked about the fast-paced growth in the technology industry in Guadalajara. The students also visited companies such as IBM, HP, and Intel. “Intel continues to be an industry leader due to having an open, collaborative workspace and moving workstations,” Gomez said.

“This trip was a wonderful opportunity to travel to a foreign place and experience its culture while learning about how business is operated there,” marketing and entrepreneurship major Ian Barrie said. “But it was not all about business - we took part in tours and excursions as well. From visiting Universidad Panamericana to touring the Intel R&D Center in Guadalajara, we were able to see a side of Mexico that is usually invisible to Americans.”

The students also visited the small town of Tequila to learn about the tequila supply chain process. At the Jose Cuervo plantation and factory, they saw demonstrations of how agaves are cut and harvested. “Tequila is a staple of Mexican culture for the last 300 years,” Barrie said.

Overall, the students from both the University of Arizona and Universidad Panamericana took away relevant information to apply in the classroom. “Unless you are going abroad, the normal American undergraduate experience offers little by way of opening up your mind to the world around you,” Barrie said. “I feel fortunate that I could get that experience representing my university, and was able to know it was making me a more well-rounded, and in turn, better person.”