Abstract:

The collaboration project between the two universities consists of creating a collaborative multicultural and international learning environment through a Global Classroom experience joint academic activity between Tecnológico de Monterrey University from Mexico and EAE Business School University from Spain.

35 students enrolled in the entrepreneurship start up course taught by professors Deyra Charles and Gisselle Morales participated on behalf of Tecnológico de Monterrey, as well as 30 students from EAE Business School enrolled in Business Organization and Administration course taught by Professor Dr. Albert Arisó and Dr. Samer Ajour.

The main objective of this study is exploring methods to enrich the Final Year Project (FYP). The FYP offers an opportunity for the competencies to be viewed from a broader sense to be acquired by the student in order to deal with complex and challenging realities that encourage creativity.

Method Implementation:
Firstly, the Mexican students presented their business idea supported with data from quality information sources to describe the opportunity. Secondly, EAE students analyzed those projects to explore the possibility of marketing the product in Spain. TEC students presented their business projects to the professors in Spain who evaluated them through a rubric. At a later stage, EAE teachers informed their students about the validated business ideas from the TEC students through which they will conduct a feasibility study.

In addition, for the correct development of this student's work and learning activity, the method adopted relied on Google Suits, videos, calendar, active instructions and evaluation rubrics.

The initial activity was an Icebreaker activity for all students. Once the randomized groups of students were established to ensure method robustness, the activity was initiated in a very organized way to ensure a constant dialogue and feedback between the groups.
The major outcomes of the first round were the effectiveness of the incubator pitch experience. EAE Business School students carried out an analysis of the opportunities and threats to commercialize the product in Spain whereas TEC students proposed strategies based on the analysis received. The outcomes of the second round were an innovative marketing plan, as well as a feasible financial plan.
Lastly, a pitch session was handled by both teams using digital tools (Padlet, Slack and Zoom) to present and defend the business plan in an international context.

Conclusions and Further Research:
The global classroom has been found to be a very enriching experience with innovative learning skills for both universities. The students valued the effort to carry out this activity with professionalism and effective intercultural communication skills, considering cross cultural barriers, and adopting intelligent argumentation. The authors consider this simulation a great academic contribution value that offers a better understanding for future education. A future research is needed with more samples, various cultures and different conditions so that it could be extrapolated to a business environment.

The main objective is to prepare future leaders for a collaborative environment formed by international groups. These are the demands of the future business trends in a post-pandemic environment.

Keywords:

Global Classroom, Pitch Education, Innovative Learning Skills, Cross Cultural Skills