By Steve Gilliam, University Relations
Contact: 336-932-4009
Posted 3-4-11
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Teams of graduate students from the Master of Business Administration degree program at UNCG have again received national recognition in the Project of the Year Competition sponsored by the Small Business Institute.
The winning teams, assembled as multi-national groups, have now graduated from the full-time MBA program in the Bryan School of Business and Economics. The winners and their projects are:
• Bobby DeRosa (USA), Anitt Nikkanen (Finland) and Xuehui Zheng (China), second place in the Graduate Comprehensive category for examining the feasibility of Tiger Tek Inc. of Brown Summit entering the electric motor market. Tiger Tek has already implemented the team’s recommendations.
• Javlan Babajanov (Uzbekistan), Sara Landreth (USA) and You-Hsin Wang (Taiwan), third place in the Graduate Specialized category for development of online banking strategies for the Bank of Oak Ridge.
Other finalists included graduate student teams from San Diego State University, Texas Woman’s University, Plymouth State University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania and California State University campuses at Fullerton and Northridge.
“These students incorporated everything that they’ve learned in the program and applied it to some challenging assignments,” said Dr. Sheldon Balbirer, former MBA program director and faculty advisor for the capstone consulting course. “Success at this level of national competition validates that Bryan MBAs are every bit as capable as students from more visible programs. These students worked hard and they deserve this prestigious honor.”
Welsh, who directs the UNCG Small Business Institute chapter, said, “These kinds of projects are helping to fuel the growth of entrepreneurial enterprises in North Carolina. These SBI awards exemplify the quality of work that our students and professors can provide to small businesses and non-profits. I cannot say enough about the impact these projects are having on the local economy.”
Last year, MBA students from UNCG received second place and honorable mention awards in the competition. The Small Business Institute is the premier organization dedicated to field-based student consulting and outreach to small businesses. Its mission is to strengthen the small business/entrepreneurship sector of the free enterprise system, provide entrepreneurship education and support economic development and diversification through teaching, consulting, training and field research with small businesses and local communities.
