Malnutrition. Water-borne illness. Cardiovascular disease. These issues and more were top of mind this semester for a group of first-year International Business majors challenged by their professors – Associate Professor of Management Diya Das, Ph.D., and Assistant Professor of Management Elzotbek Rustambekov, Ph.D. – to develop a business that would address a global social problem.
The assignment was part of Global Foundations of Organizations and Business, a three-credit component of Bryant’s nationally recognized First-Year Gateway.
On Nov. 2 – not even eight weeks into their collegiate careers – 10 student teams pitched their proposals to a panel of judges that included the director of strategic initiatives from software company Dassault Systemes and the director of operations for Swarovski.
The teams and their innovative solutions reflected extensive research and critical thinking about the scope of the problems they had identified, and the cultural mores and practices that would affect their business. In learning how to nurture their ideas into international businesses, they developed skills in design thinking, rapid prototyping, leadership, communication, negotiation and time management. They also grew in their understanding of the triple bottom line – the social, economic, and environmental dimensions their proposed businesses would have.