RESEARCH Business Economy

AGRIBUSINESS
Course in Europe immerses students in global market issues

Andrea Lynn, Humanities Editor
(217) 333-2177; a-lynn@uiuc.edu

6/1/2001

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — For Americans with no direct interest in the agriculture or food industries, the effects of foot-and-mouth disease and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on European food markets may be little more than the stuff of news headlines. But for students hoping to pursue careers in international agribusiness, these are issues of great import.

In fact, they were among the main topics of study for 15 University of Illinois graduate students who just returned from an intensive, two-week research tour of Belgium, France and the Netherlands. The students traveled to Europe with UI professors Hamish Gow and Joe Cheng May 12-26 as part of a new international agribusiness colloquium, "Doing Business in Europe." The program is sponsored by Cargill and the UI's Center for International Business Education and Research, and International Programs and Studies. Cargill, a corporation with 85,000 employees in 60 countries, markets, processes and distributes agricultural, food, financial and industrial products and services.

The students received a crash course on several issues confronting the European food
industry – from food safety and biotechnology to the response of firms and governments to disruptions in the global food chain resulting from food scares. Gow, a professor of business administration and of agricultural and consumer economics, said recent food scares have included the introduction of GMOs, dioxin contamination in Belgium, and the spread of foot-and-mouth and mad-cow diseases.

During their first week in Europe, the UI students attended classes on topics such as environmental policy, the euro, European labor, and antitrust law, taught by leading experts at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium) and European government officials. The second week, they visited plants and other
food-industry sites, and interviewed corporate executives in all three host countries. During the summer and fall semesters, each student will complete an in-depth research report on a critical issue confronting the European food industry. The public eventually will be able to access the research on a course-related Web site.

Gow said the participating students picked up skills that will set them apart from other graduates as they embark on agribusiness careers.

"The job market demand for graduates who are internationally literate and able to work effectively with diverse populations will be growing at an exponential rate as technology propels us towards one global economy," said Gow, who is hopeful that the course will be offered again. He said plans are under way to launch similar colloquia and study tours in China and Central and South America.

Such programs are long overdue, Gow said, especially for students planning to work in Illinois agribusiness, "where 50 percent of the product gets exported."

"Unfortunately, we don't spend 50 percent of our time in the educational process telling students how international markets operate and how business operates internationally, as we previously have not had the resources or support available."