YOUNGSTOWN — A Youngstown State University business student recently attended a major international symposium.

Brielle Robinson, a junior from the Williamson College of Business Administration, majoring in international business, participated in the 2024 X-Culture Global Symposium July 7 to 13 in Chiang Rai, Thailand. She was the only college student from Ohio at the international competition.

“It was an absolutely amazing experience to get to learn about how another market operates. I am beyond blessed to have made so many connections and friends internationally,” she said. “X-Culture is a great introduction into the world of international business. Thank you to Dr. Omer Genc, associate professor of management at YSU, as well as the faculty at the WCBA for this opportunity.”

Robinson was invited to the X-Culture Symposium in Thailand after successfully competing in the X-Culture Corporate Challenge in 2023. The challenge is an international experiential learning project involving 6,000 students from over 50 countries working in global virtual teams (GVTs) to complete a business project, learning the processes, challenges and best practices of global cross-cultural collaboration.

The July symposium included a corporate challenge, with each student placed on a team of at least four students. The teams collaborated virtually for a month prior to the conference.

Five international companies supported the competition — Thailand-based Singha Park, Suwirun, TNP, Sooknirund and Doi Kham. Each student team created a three-year marketing plan for one of these companies’ events.

Robinson’s team included international students from Myanmar, the United States and the Netherlands. The team created a business development project for Singha Park, a family-friendly tourist attraction in Chiang Rai that contains an amusement park, zoo, and tea plantation and manufacturing facility.

The company events from Singha Park included the Singha Cultural Festival, Fashion to The World x Singha Park fashion show collaboration, Singha Sports Competition, Singha Tea and Wellness Festival, and Singha Cinema event. While working on several marketing events to increase customer presence within the park, the student team visited the company and spoke with its CEO.

In addition to the corporate challenge, the program included other valuable sessions, including lectures, professional development workshops, networking and social events. The lecture sessions were about standardization versus adaptation, cultural differences and trusting coworkers living in another country.