Crowning a Global Champion

By Karl Brisseaux
ISP winners posing with their awards
Each spring, every NYU Stern Undergraduate College junior explores the economic, cultural and political histories of countries in Asia, Europe and South America as part ofThe Edward and Nancy Barr Family International Studies Program (ISP). The semester-long course includes an international trip, and culminates with a business-plan competition.
 
In March, 583 students visited Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Lisbon, Portugal; or Santiago, Chile, where they heard academic lectures, visited businesses, and explored local cultures. When they returned to New York, students began work on their final projects – a business plan for the companies they visited while abroad.
 
The 2015 ISP Competition Global Champions created a business strategy proposal for Codelco, a Chilean copper mining company located in Santiago. The winning team comprised of Stern juniors Amay Makhija, Jason Wang, Parag Agarwal, David Yin, and Pranay Jain. Sunder Narayanan, Clinical Professor of Marketing at Stern, advised their team.
 
“Global Study through our Stern Around The World programs is a pillar of the Stern undergraduate experience, and ISP has truly become a hallmark,” said Undergraduate College Dean Geeta Menon. “No other school does anything on its scale.”
 
The Undergraduate College has hosted the ISP Competition since 2003. Through semi-final rounds one team from each region – Asia, Europe and South America – was chosen to compete in Skirball auditorium for the ISP championship. In attendance are the entire junior class, as well as Stern faculty and deans.
 
The winning presentation was selected by a panel of judges, which included Tony Alvarez (MBA ’76), CEO of Alvarez & Marsal; Luis Cabral, Paganelli-Bull Professor of Economics and International Business; J.P. Eggers, Associate Professor of Management and Organizations; Priya Raghubir, Dean Abraham L. Gitlow Professor of Business & Chair of Marketing Department; Jane Sadaka (MBA ‘80), a private investor; Ellen Schapps Richman (MBA ‘79), Adjunct Professor of Marketing at Columbia University; and Irv Schenkler, Director and Clinical Associate Professor of Management Communication.
 
Since ISP began in 2001, over 7,000 students have traveled abroad. ISP allows students to understand the competitive position of a company in its industry, country and its context in the global marketplace. Visiting the companies allows students to gain a deeper understanding of international business and a new culture.
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