Serving as the model for a series of nationwide conferences to be led by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Temple recently hosted a full-day panel discussion highlighting strategies for competing in the global marketplace.

Offered on March 4 in Alter Hall, “Competing in the 21st Century: Navigating the Global Marketplace” addressed issues such as free trade, student internships in Washington, DC, and international job opportunities. The event was sponsored by Temple’s Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) and the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute at the Fox School of Business.

“Temple was chosen to be the first university to present this global seminar because of its relationship to the business and entrepreneurship community,” said Shawn Ricks, senior international trade specialist, U.S. Department of Commerce, who helped develop the conference. “Temple is setting an example not only in the region, but across the country.”

The conference featured a session on preparing for international career opportunities, which offered professional development tips for international business majors and other students.

“Employers come across hundreds of international business majors, ” said Nick Barrett, federal relations program coordinator for The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars. “Make yourself stand out. Be unique in your choices. For example, major in international business with a specialization in East Asia studies. That will really make you more marketable.”

Patrick Kenny, president of the student-led International Business Association (IBA), felt the conference reaffirmed his career path. Kenny distributed a CD with his resume and that of other IBA members hoping to secure internships and/or jobs.

“Listening to the panelists made me glad that I’m working toward creating an original and marketable background,” said Kenny, a junior with a dual major in international business and marketing,

“The conference gave students a great head start,” said Kim Cahill, director of Temple’s CIBER. “They could network with representatives from the Phelps Stokes Fund, the Washington Center Program, the U.S. Department of Education, the Economic Development Administration, the International Trade Administration and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.”

In addition to the business professionals and college students who attended, 15 area high school students from Bodine International Baccalaureate attended and joined in a private roundtable discussion with panelists. As a result, there are already plans for these students to spend a full day shadowing government representatives at the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C.

According to international educator and human rights program consultant Adelaide Ferguson, who moderated the global career panel, the lesson for all participants is the same.

“We live in an interconnected society,” said Ferguson. “No matter what your age, background or field of work, globalization helps to define you. Globalization is everywhere.”