Miller School hosts international entrepreneurship professionals

Accreditation and entrepreneurship professionals from the Middle East and North Africa recently visited the U.S. to network, build skills, and further develop cross-regional knowledge-sharing opportunities.  On February 9, 11 participants from 11 countries across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) arrived in the United States as part of the U.S. Department of State’s Leaders Lead On-Demand Program. This exchange follows a reciprocal outbound program in July 2022 that brought 45 accreditation and entrepreneurship professionals from across the U.S. and MENA to Dubai, United Arab Emirates for a two-day Idea Lab. This exchange included networking and collaboration through action-oriented sessions to discuss key focus areas, such as U.S.-MENA partnerships, linkages between universities and the labor market, and quality controls in business education. Participants also formed an interactive virtual network to further deepen connections between U.S. and MENA institutions. World Learning hosted the participants in Glassboro, NJ; Greenville, NC; New Rochelle, NY; Tallahassee, FL; and Washington, DC, as part of the U.S. Department of State’s Leaders Lead On-Demand exchange program, “Quality Controls and Accreditation in Business and Entrepreneurship Academic Programs.” Dr. Dennis Barber III conducted workshops and participated in panel discussions for the first phase of the U.S. portion of the program at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ on February 9 and 10. Participating universities included the Miller School of Entrepreneurship at ECU, the School of Entrepreneurship & Innovation at Rowan University, the Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship at Florida State University, the Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at Iona University, and the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

The visitors to Greenville hailed from Bahrain and Morocco. One day one of the two-day visit, the participants networked with COB, REDE, and Global Affairs leadership. The goal was to facilitate further exchange of ideas, research, faculty, and students between ECU and their home institutions. Day two consisted of a road trip around eastern North Carolina. Leaders from Martin, Beaufort, and Pitt Counties met with the visitors to discuss the role of ECU and collaboration in utilizing small business development and entrepreneurship in driving rural economic and community development. Dean Michael Harris, Dr. Dennis Barber III, and Tristyn Daughtry (RISE29 Program Manager) joined for the tour.

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