The International Business Center in the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University has been reaffirmed as a Center for International Business Education and Research by the U.S. Department of Education in its 2014 grant competition.
MSU has been a CIBER institution since 1990.
U.S. Congress created the CIBERS under the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 to increase and promote the nation’s capacity for international competitiveness.
As a result of the 2014 grant competition, 17 universities were designated by the U.S. Department of Education to serve as national resources to increase global business competence. At the peak, nine Big Ten universities were among the nation’s CIBER universities; now, only four remain and MSU is among the select group.
MSU’s CIBER grant for the 2014 to 2018 period is titled Strategic Value Chains for Increased International Competitiveness. The mission is to leverage leading-edge knowledge and skills to provide superior education, research and assistance to businesses, multiplier groups, faculty and students on issues of national significance for international competitiveness.
“Our CIBER agenda is designed to be far-reaching, high-impact and aligned with the rich ‘world-grant’ traditions of MSU,” said Tomas Hult, director of MSU’s CIBER.
MSU’s CIBER work agenda for 2014-2018 builds on the experiences already received by millions of people who have been positively affected, he said. Such examples include more than 1 million active users on globalEDGE to more than 12,000 companies nationwide (including some 1,900 companies in Michigan) to more than 500 faculty trained at community colleges across 44 U.S. states (including faculty at 24 of 28 community colleges in Michigan) to the business professorates who benefit from MSU’s top ranking in producing international business research.