Global Entrepreneurship and Social Change
Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Hidalgo (Tec-Hgo) along with U.S partner, George Mason University, developed and co-taught a course, Managing in a Global Economy/Desarollo de Empreses de Impacto Social, which focused on three subject matters: social entrepreneurship, global strategy, and cross-cultural management. Throughout the program development and design process, faculty members visited each other’s institution (2 to U.S. and 1 to Mexico) in order to determine scope, structure, as well as technological requirements needed in order to implement the pilot course. ITESM faculty, for example, received training under the Global Network Learning framework used by GMU. In total, 21 students completed the course, 12 from ITESM and 9 from GMU (10 proposed from each), which involved them attending virtual lectures together, working on a group project, participating in a reciprocal one-week exchange that brought students face-to-face with one another and with their assigned social entrepreneurs in Mexico, and concluding the semester with an English presentation and report by students that provided analysis, strategies and recommendations to the business ventures. Overall, students performed well in the course, with a final class average of 87 for Tec-Hgo students. Students’ cross-cultural experiences were also measured using the Global Perspectives Index, which evaluates the different aspects that affect one’s awareness and perspective on self and others. ITESM hopes to expand and continue the global management course and is currently in talks to develop courses in Spanish for nurses and health workers.