Rebecca Neuffer ’20, Whitney Dietz ’22 and Andreas Thorsen ’22 were members of the top teams in the international virtual business consulting competition.
Martha and Spencer Love School of Business students Rebecca Neuffer ’20, Whitney Dietz ’22 and Andreas Thorsen ’22 received Best Team awards in the 2020 X-Culture competition, a large-scale experiential learning exercise designed to provide students with an opportunity to gain first-hand experience in international virtual collaboration.
More than 5,000 MBA students, undergraduate business students and non-student contestants from 148 universities in 70 countries enrolled in the 2020-1 round of X-Culture.
Working in global virtual teams with each team member in a different country, participants developed a business proposal to solve a real challenge faced by an X-Culture company partner and provided a detailed plan for implementing the idea.
Out of 975 teams, 28, including teams which Neuffer, Dietz and Thorsen were members of, received Best Team awards.
Neuffer, an accounting and finance double major, worked with teammates from Russia, India and the U.S. Dietz, an international business major, worked with teammates from Ghana, Colombia, Mexico and the U.S. Thorsen, an international business and marketing double major, worked with teammates from China, Colombia and the U.S.
International business professors and coaches from around the world evaluated teams’ business reports along multiple dimensions, such as report creativity, clarity, the viability of the ideas, style, as well as evaluation of each report section.
Fifty Elon students participated in X-Culture as part of the Introduction to International Business course taught by Carri Reisdorf Tolmie, assistant professor of international business in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business.
Tolmie received a Best Instructor award from X-Culture for her work supporting the competition.
“Carri proved to be an innovative and inspiring educator and a very reliable partner, who took the responsibilities related to the project very seriously, completed all tasks on time, worked diligently with the students, and responded promptly to students’ questions and concerns,” said Vasyl Taras, X-Culture project founder and coordinator. “An opportunity like this is extremely valuable for students. It provides new experiences, teaches new skills, strengthens resumes, and helps launch a successful career. However, it requires a tremendous time investment and skills from the instructor. Carri Reisdorf Tolmie put the students’ interest first and invested the extra time and effort required by this massive project.”