Saturday event aims to inspire 'global thinking'

BOWLING GREEN, O.—American college students tend to fall behind when it comes to global competition, according to Bowling Green State University senior Jake Gallardo, an international studies major from the Philippines. On Saturday (April 19), BGSU students will have the opportunity to learn how they can shape their education to meet the challenges of the new world environment, at the second annual Students Initiative for Global Competitiveness conference.

Organized by students for students, the event is a “chance for BGSU students to learn from alumni who are actually involved in the global economy,” said Clare Mukolwe, a senior finance major from Zambia and vice president of the organization, of which Gallardo is president and founder.

This year’s theme is “Inspiring a new generation of students to become globally competitive.” The conference will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in 228 Bowen-Thompson Student Union and is free and open to the public. More than 150 students and faculty are expected to attend.

The opening talk, at 11 a.m., will be given by John Burge, executive vice president of Auerbach Grayson & Co., an international brokerage firm. Burge’s topic is “Opportunities in the Global Market: Participating in the Leveling of the Global Economic Playing Field.”

Following a 12:30 p.m. luncheon, keynote speaker and BGSU alumnus Bassel Ojjeh, senior vice president of Yahoo! Inc., will discuss “One Size Fits All: Globalization and the End of Global Products as We Know It” at 1:30 p.m.

Another BGSU graduate, Kojo Appenteng, an investment banker with Morgan Stanley, will talk at 3:30 p.m. on “Preparing to Compete in an Integrated World.”

Question-and-answer sessions will be held after each speech.

The BGSU Foundation Inc., the Coca-Cola Co., the College of Arts & Sciences and the College of Business Administration are sponsoring the event.

For more information, contact Gallardo at 419-494-9318 or jakemg@bgsu.edu, or Mukolwe at 419-378-0925.

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(Posted April 17, 2008 )