Eight Boise State students, along with Mark Buchanan, director of the International Business Program, and two members of the Idaho Bean Commission have their bags packed and are set to fly more than 3,000 miles to San Juan, Puerto Rico, for the Global Scholars Program.
The Global Scholars Program, now in its third year, is a competitive program within the College of Business and Economics that partners a team of students with an Idaho business to perform market analysis and establish international relations on behalf of the Idaho organization. In 2014 the Global Scholars Program worked with Semilla Nueva, a nonprofit working on economic development in Guatemala. Last year and this year the team is working with the Idaho Bean Commission to explore export opportunities for Idaho Blue Tag seed beans in Costa Rica and Puerto Rico.
One of the students selected to be part of the Global Scholars Program, Rylee Lewis, said the team has been working hard this semester researching everything from bean disease and breeding and international trade regulations to Puerto Rico’s economy and culture.
While the students have worked hard determining supply chain networks and identifying people to meet with, Buchanan said the most rewarding part is getting there and having students participate in real-world business meetings and on-site visits concerning a product that they know inside and out.
“Puzzle pieces fit together and the lights go on as their academic knowledge comes to life,” he said.
After the team returns from Puerto Rico, they will present their findings during the Idaho Undergraduate Research Conference and to the Idaho Bean Commission. Then, the commission will use the students’ market analysis to determine if Puerto Rico is a viable market for Idaho bean seeds. If it is, they’ll use the international connections, forged by Boise State students, to begin negotiations.