Online and traditional/on-campus Master of Business Administration students came together in Costa Rica this summer to learn about the country’s culture and provide business consulting expertise to global clients.

“International travel is transformative—truly life-changing,” said Dr. William McCumber, associate dean of graduate programs and research in the College of Business. “To combine international travel with an additional transformative process—being a consultant—is potentially a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

McCumber accompanied the team of 11 graduate students on the trip and taught BUSN 540, a graduate-level course designed to facilitate the global consulting component of the immersive experience.

“This trip presented a unique opportunity to apply the theoretical knowledge I’ve gained from my MBA courses in a real-world international setting,” said Brian Laswell, an online MBA student from Phoenix, Arizona. “With 15 years of management experience, I was particularly interested in understanding how business is conducted in a different cultural context and seeing how strategies I’ve used in the past could be adapted or reimagined in a global environment.”

Laswell and his classmates were paired with Costa Rican companies: XUMTECH, a Salesforce CRM provider with a strong Latin American reputation; Green XPO, a company that uses drones, satellite images, and IoT to optimize crops, reduce supervision, and improve costs; and Sarco Architects, a luxury firm focused on sustainable tropical modern design.

Online MBA student Wadah Habeeb, of Schaumburg, Illinois, was on the team that provided consulting services to XUMTECH.

“This project was one of the most interesting experiences I’ve ever had,” said Habeeb. “Our team proposed a comprehensive plan for XUMTECH to enter the U.S. market, including a competitive analysis of their direct competitors, a full roadmap for market entry, financial and management assessments, a marketing plan, and a risk assessment. The company was thrilled with our proposal and expressed that we opened their eyes to new possibilities for entering the U.S. market, something they hadn’t fully understood before.”

Both Laswell and Habeeb were able to pull from their MBA courses as they worked on client deliverables over the seven-day trip.

“The foundational knowledge I’ve gained was invaluable,” said Laswell. “Courses on strategic management and marketing, in particular, were directly applicable. They helped me approach the project with a structured framework and provided tools for conducting thorough market analysis. My experience in management was complemented by the new concepts and methodologies I’ve been exposed to in the MBA program, allowing me to contribute effectively to the team and the project’s success.”

Habeeb, whose background is in engineering, noted that this experience showed him how his MBA studies have equipped him to work across different industries.

“The knowledge and skills I’ve gained through the program were directly applicable to the consulting work we did, particularly in areas like strategic planning, financial assessment, and market analysis,” he said.

In addition to their consulting work, the group explored San Jose and immersed themselves in the Costa Rican culture.

“Bonding with my fellow MBA students outside of the classroom environment and exploring the beautiful landscapes of Costa Rica made the experience even more memorable,” said Laswell. “In particular, a fellow MBA student and I attended a carnival celebration in a local neighborhood which was the ultimate highlight of the trip for the both of us.”

In addition to touring sites like the Hacienda Alsacia Starbucks Coffee Farm, the group spoke with executives including the CEO of Citibank and local entrepreneurs to gain insights into their management experiences. The trip concluded with presentations to XUMTECH, Green XPO, and Sarco Architects, which McCumber noted were “first class, very professional, and very well received by the client companies’ executives.”

“Having the opportunity to watch these professionals grow—individually and together as a team—literally hour by hour, as they negotiate an unfamiliar place, a new professional challenge, and gel as a team to create and deliver their consulting projects was the best part of this experience,” said McCumber. “I am truly appreciative of this opportunity. Experiencing and appreciating positive transformational processes in students—that is truly a gift for any teacher.”