Abstract:

Creating international business opportunities is directly tied to the European agenda of promoting international higher education. In the modern academic world, intercultural intelligence is very much part of the rhetoric of why we invest in the diversity of our student bodies. Higher education is understood to open the dialogues between the international students and the domestic ones, so they can begin to appreciate how to successfully work together in the future. Currently, in Finland, all higher education is free. This is not to create brand awareness, although in some markets it certainly does. Access to education is a right for everyone. It can be argued, if done correctly, free education is one of the most important forms of sustainable business development in opening up bridging points in international business. However, in a recent parallel national dialogue, we are in the process of determining if creating politically expedient boundary lines for charging fees to people from outside the European Union would be a better course of action. The concern is that if students come for free education and then they do not stay in the country, then the investment costs are lost in the form of future capabilities and taxes. This line of discussion, may, in fact, be short sighted.

For example, as our current international students become the future gatekeepers of the international enterprises, we need to remember a positive international experience can open doors to future business opportunities, just as a negative international experiences can close those very same doors. We need to keep in mind, as the major centers of international business shifts to the emerging markets in South East Asia, Latin America and Africa; our graduates are going to be seeking work in those cultures and contexts. We are in the unenviable position of getting this very wrong. One of our biggest current challenges is helping people integrate into the European environment. One of our future challenges is helping international students be positively predisposed to working with our graduates in their environment, which may in fact be outside the European context. In short, our ability to conduct international business is going to be directly influenced, not only by our ability to work in multicultural multidimensional organizations in our European environment, but by other people’s willingness to include us in their international environment. This last point is not self-evident.

This study focuses on sharing an approach of one Master’s Degree program in International Business Development at a Finnish University of Applied Sciences and aims at sharing a successful bridging process for creating business development studies in the emerging markets. The paper emphasizes and provides pragmatic recommendations, based on our case study, for creating sustainable business development studies as tangible business opportunities.

Keywords:

International business competencies, international business intelligence, international business development, sustainable business development.