Purpose:
This MoU was signed in 2017 to promote cultural, educational and scientific cooperation through direct contact and collaboration among students, faculty and staff.

Joint Activities Conducted:
1. Working in Virtual Teams: SJIM and the Albers School jointly conducted an annual international business plan competition in which students from both schools work collaboratively in virtual teams to develop a sustainable business plan within the context of that year’s topic. Over time, other sister institutions in the St. Joseph’s group and other schools in Seattle University have also participated in this annual competition resulting in more comprehensive business plans. Usually, a three-member European panel of judges (who members are venture capitalists, serial entrepreneurs, or UN and other international organizations’ officials) shortlist the finalists. The finalists are then judged through a live presentation made to an eminent multi-member panel of Indian/American judges.
a. 2017 SJIM-Albers International Business Plan Competition
b. 2018 SJIM-Albers International Business Plan Competition
c. 2019 SJIM-Albers International Business Plan Competition

2. Immersion program in Seattle: Students from SJIM participate in an annual Immersion Program to the Albers School in June/September. Our students are exposed to the culture and workplace environment in the United States and are thus made aware of the global scenario of businesses. The students live in either the American university dormitory or at local hotels; they interact with Albers’ students and faculty, participate in joint academic activities, and so on. They also visit the global headquarters of different multinational organizations like Microsoft, Boeing, Starbucks, and JP Morgan Chase and interact with managers, or sometimes even vice presidents at these firms.
a. 2018 USA Immersion Program
b. 2019 USA Immersion Program

3. Affiliate Faculty:
Dr. Caren Rodrigues is approved as an affiliate faculty member of the Albers School to help further the collaborations between the faculty of the two schools.

4. Collaborative Research:
Dr. Anup Krishnamurthy and Dr. Caren Rodrigues are actively collaborating with faculty from the Albers School on different research topics of mutual interest.

5. Joint Virtual Class Collaboration:
In a new initiative, under the COIL program, Dr. Caren Rodrigues and Geneva Sedgwick (Director of University Summer Programs) are collaborating to bring modules/projects/assignments related to negotiations onto a single virtual platform accessible to students of both schools. The faculty from both schools prepare the content together and deliver the same content to their students. Where possible, students get the opportunity to interact with their counterparts in the other school, which gives the students a highly interactive cross-cultural experience.

Purpose:
To promote educational and scientific cooperation through direct contact and collaboration among students, faculty and staff.
The MoU was signed in 2018 between the two schools.

Joint Activities Conducted:
1. Immersion program to Kula Lumpur, Malaysia
a. The 2019 SJIM Malaysian Immersion Program: This program to Kula Lumpur took place in August 2019. Seventeen of our students and Dr. Venkateshraj participated in the program, which saw them take part in workshops at the Malaysian university and visit various locations in Malaysia. More details can be found here.
b. The 2020 SJIM Malaysian Immersion Program: (cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic).

Purpose:
To promote academic exchange and cooperation through the exchange of academic material, the exchange of faculty, students and researchers for the purpose of teaching, study and academic research, and through the organization of academic conferences on issues of mutual concern.

Implementation:
This MoU was signed in 2019 and is thus still in its infancy. A team from Fu Jen visited SJIM in 2020 (read about it here) to further strengthen the ties between our two schools. An Immersion Program to Fu Jen and the participation of Fu Jen students in SJIM-Albers Annual International Business Plan competition are likely to be the first joint activities that will engage our two schools of business in 2020-22.

Student Internships. Under our partnership, up to 4 students from SJIM visit UCO for a two-month long Internship Program with the university. In 2017-18, two students from SJIM, Astran and Vivian, stayed at UCO and took up research topics under the joint guidance of SJIM and UCO Professors.