Illinois CIBER Mission

The Centers for International Business Education and Research (CIBERs) were created by Congress under the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 to increase and promote the nation's capacity for international understanding and competitiveness. Administered by the U.S. Department of Education, the CIBER network links the manpower and information needs of the United States business community with the international education, language training, and research capabilities of universities across the country.

Since its establishment in 1993, the University of Illinois' Center for International Business Education and Research (Illinois CIBER) has been a leader in advancing the study and teaching of international business and supporting research on global competitiveness. Drawing on the outstanding resources of the University and the College of Business, and with the guidance of its Advisory Council, the center designs and implements programs for local, regional, and national impact.

As a member of the CIBER network, we work closely with the 31 CIBER universities in providing comprehensive services and programs that help improve American competitiveness.

Illinois CIBER is committed to empowering students, faculty, and business professionals to meet the globalization challenge of the 21st Century. Our mission is to offer high-quality teaching, research, and outreach programs that help advance their global knowledge and cross-cultural skills. Specifically, the center aims to:

• Raise awareness about international business across campus, in the community, and throughout the state and region by organizing and participating in conferences, seminars, and workshops on international business topics.
• Promote interdisciplinary studies by combining the teaching of international business with foreign language and culture training to serve the needs of both business students and students in other disciplines.
• Meet the training needs of business professionals engaged in exporting and other international business activities through the provision of special language, culture, and international business knowledge.
• Produce high quality research in international business and related disciplines whose results contribute to the competitiveness of U.S. businesses.
• Serve as a regional and national resource for international business teaching, research, and professional development.

Strategic Focus

As the world becomes increasingly globally interdependent, technologically advanced, and culturally diverse, we need to develop more integrated frameworks to guide international business teaching, research, and practice. To this end, we have adopted the theme "Technology, Culture, and International Competitiveness" to provide a vision and direction for our 2002 - 2006 CIBER agenda.

This theme builds on the unique strengths of the University of Illinois as a world leader in the development and deployment of cutting-edge technologies, particularly in computing and information management, and their application to the professional fields of agriculture, business, library science, and engineering. Our goal is to draw from this knowledge base and combine it with area studies and foreign language expertise in developing and implementing programs that further America's international competitiveness.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
College of Business
CIBERWeb

email webmaster