X-Culture Project Breaks Enrollment Record

13 Mar, 2013

University of North Carolina-Greensboro announces record enrollment in program to ready students for global workplace.

This month a record-breaking 3,200 students from 84 universities in more than 40 countries are participating in UNCG’s X-Culture Project, an initiative to prepare a new generation of workers for the demands of a global marketplace.

The X-Culture Project matches students in international business courses at participating universities with their counterparts in other countries. Working together in small virtual teams over a four-month period, students create joint proposals that address complex issues and opportunities faced by today’s multinational corporations. They learn the basics of market analysis and business plan development, as well as best practices for working with colleagues across countries and cultures.

A business student at UNCG, for example, might partner on a project with students at Vilnius University in Lithuania, Koc University in Turkey, KNUST School of Business in Ghana, Rikkyo University in Japan, the Parsons Paris Art and Design School and Mexico’s Ciencias Económico Administrativas Universidad de Guadalajara.

“The workplace is going global, and increasingly individuals find themselves participating in workgroups that are dispersed around the world,” says Vas Taras, professor in the UNCG Bryan School of Business and Economics and creator of the X-Culture Project. “We want students to have an understanding of what it takes to collaborate effectively across international borders so we can prepare them for what’s to come.”

Taras and his global colleagues have conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the X-Culture project that shows it is highly impactful. Data involving 4,000 students in more than 30 countries indicates that participation: