Global Development Initiative Kicks Off Fourth Year

 

The Global Development Initiative (GDI), a collaboration between the Richardson Economic Development Partnership (REDP) and The University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas), recently kicked off its fourth year. The GDI offers global exposure for Richardson and the North Texas region by providing global business students in UT Dallas’ Naveen Jindal School of Management internships with foreign-based companies. Participating companies, which plan to enter the U.S. market, can experience Richardson while learning about its many business benefits.

 

Each year, the GDI’s two leaders – Lawrence P. Howorth, director, Mayor's Office of International Business for Richardson, and Professor Hubert Zydorek, director of UT Dallas’ global business department – select companies and students for the program using specific participation criteria. Howorth leverages his decades of multinational business experience and relationships with foreign chambers and consulates to assess potential company candidates, while Zydorek directs the GDI’s research process, which stems from his longtime involvement in designing and developing blended-learning solutions for international clients.

The program, which has served 80+ students to date, includes 22 student interns and three student project coordinators this fall. Students are assigned to a participant company and also matched with one of five business mentors recruited from a Richardson-based company. During the 12-week project, under the direction of their business mentor, plus Howorth and Zydorek, the students conduct market research projects examining the viability of each foreign-based company’s products for U.S. launch.

 

Prospective GDI companies are foreign-based, small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with revenue of $2 million -$50 million and an established business in their home countries. The selected companies are pre-qualified with criteria that include high-value, collaborative internship opportunities, an interest in establishing a U.S. location (particularly in Richardson) and access to financial capital to enter the U.S.

 

This fall’s participating companies, including 3D Tada, Bloom Care Solutions, Tope Energy USA, IT-Seekers and Provoke Solutions, represent nations ranging from Canada and Korea to Mexico and New Zealand. These companies offer student interns and Richardson access to a wide array of technology-related industries that include 3-D modeling education software, digital health technology and services, wind and solar smart energy, information and communication technology services focused on nearshoring, and strategy and management for modern cloud infrastructure and digitalization.

 

A win-win for all involved, the program allows students to conduct and provide valuable market research while allowing foreign-based companies a soft landing into Richardson. The GDI also provides flexibility through both in-person and remote work experiences, as proven successful during the pandemic.

 

Due to the program’s success and overwhelming positive feedback from both student and company participants, the GDI is slated to be turned into a core-course project for all global business majors at UT Dallas. To learn more about the GDI program, visit utdallasgdi.com.