york firms set the stage for global co-operation

Visits to some of York’s top businesses by a US ambassador look set to cement the educational links forged by the city and support the next generation of international entrepreneurs and businesspeople.

Buck Buchanan, associate professor of business administration at Defiance College in Ohio, has spent a week in York visiting firms interested in supporting international business students.  

The visit was organised in conjunction with York St John Business School.  The Business School Dean, Jackie Mathers, joined the directors of one of York’s longest established PR, marketing and design agencies, The Partners Group, at their offices in the city to discuss co-operation and support for the programme.

Buck hopes to build on previous cultural visits he has organised to the city and give US students the opportunity to learn about doing business in the UK by getting involved with businesses and learning first hand from entrepreneurs, business start-ups and mature businesses.  He says:

“A lot of our students have never seen beyond the state of Ohio, let alone outside the US.  York has such a lot to offer in both business and cultural terms, and I think it’s vital that in our increasingly globalised world business students have as much exposure as possible to international commerce.”

Jackie Mathers agrees: “Young people have such a lot to offer to the world of businesses.  They’re not afraid to ask the naïve questions that we often overlook, or to question why things are done the way they are.  We’ve seen businesses get astounding results from student engagement.

“Buck shares our vision of ensuring that businesses and students each derive real value from working together.  Through our existing international connections I can certainly see scope to support the programme, and perhaps even extend it to offer students broader experience of business throughout Europe.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity and we’ll certainly be talking further with Buck and businesses like Partners to help develop the programme.”

Partners Group director, Karen Nixon, adds, “Having input and market insights from international students into some of the global publicity projects we undertake with our partners in the US and elsewhere in the world would add another dimension to these campaigns.  It’s a very exciting project and we’re looking forward to getting more involved.”

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