The Future of International Business Education

SAN DIEGO –  “I grew up in Czechoslovakia,” San Diego State University (SDSU) Charles W. Hostler Professor of Global Business Martina Musteen said. “That was a communist country. I was very lucky, because the [Berlin] Wall fell just as I came of age for my service. Growing up in that country, you couldn’t travel anywhere. You were kind of locked in. They would shoot people trying to cross.

“When it opened up, it was just amazing,” Musteen said. “I think that experience was in part why I was right from the beginning interested in everything international.”

Musteen went on to complete her undergraduate work at the European division of the University of Maryland in Heidelberg, Germany. Early on in her education, a small business management class sparked her interest in the broader business world.

“Growing up in a country that does not have private enterprise — everything is owned by the government — it was absolutely fascinating,” Musteen said.

Next, she earned her master’s degree from CIMBA, Italy and her Ph.D. from the University of Kansas.

Shortly after, SDSU was seeking a faculty member to develop a course in international entrepreneurship and Musteen filled the role. For the 19 years since, Musteen has been a part of SDSU’s faculty, shaping the university’s global business programs through her work as a professor and Faculty Director of the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER).

Five years ago, Musteen helped design SDSU’s Master of Science in Global Business Development, an initiative of the Wendy Gillespie Center for Advancing for Global Business, which has attracted students from around the world. International students make up about 40% of the program’s demographic.

Many of the program’s students bring professional experience or a previous master’s degree. Through the program, they work directly with real companies looking to develop their international presence.

Over the past 19 years, Musteen said that her students have worked with over 120 companies from 20 countries through SDSU’s global business programs.

At large, SDSU’s Fowler College of Business is comprised of about 9,200 students. Musteen said that the university’s global business programs have grown immensely in recent years. The growth can be attributed to current events in international business and San Diego’s position along the U.S.-Mexico border.

When discussing global business with her students, Musteen said the conversation boils down to two important topics.

“We are living in a very uncertain world, so geopolitics is probably number one,” Musteen said. “Number two is technology with AI, which is obviously on everybody’s mind these days.”

Navigating Current Events in Global Business Curriculum

“On the political side, at least in the U.S., we see this huge sort of polarization,” Musteen said. “We see polarization in geopolitics as well, because we now have China, and the U.S., is there maybe a little bit of resemblance to the Cold War? Probably.

“That is what comes to mind – is this polarization on the micro level and the macro level,” she continued. “The companies have to deal with those tensions.”

An ongoing tension has formed with changing international tariffs. Musteen said that, while tariffs present a shock, she predicts that business will stabilize as companies adapt.

“I am hopeful that we’ll live through it, and that businesses will live through it,” Musteen said. “Shocks come all the time.”

Musteen discussed the rise of an “Anything But China” (ABC) approach to international business, by which companies actively relocate manufacturing operations to countries outside of China, fully exiting the country. Popular options have included Thailand, Malaysia and Bangladesh, according to Musteen.

The mindset is an evolution from the pandemic-era “China Plus One” mentality, Musteen said, which saw companies cautiously supplementing their manufacturing operations in China with operations in other countries.

Along with relocation, companies are investing in automation. Mexico, which has become another popular option for manufacturing relocation, has developed manufacturing technology to meet rising demand.

“We have this wonderful neighbor south of the border,” Musteen said. “For us in San Diego, it’s a treasure trove, in some sense, where manufacturers may go increasingly there, and Mexico has really upgraded in terms of the capabilities they have.”

The advent of AI has changed both the world of business and the world of education, Musteen said.

“It would be really short sighted to ban it,” Musteen said. “I think students are definitely using it, but we are using it too as a faculty. It has both good and bad sides.”

Musteen said that SDSU is still developing its policies on AI use by students and faculty. It’s a complicated issue, she said, and universities nationwide are learning how to adapt.

As students incorporate AI into the completion of assignments, Musteen said that educators may turn towards oral exams to test knowledge.

Adapting Business Education for Workforce of the Future

While AI presents a tool for many students, it also presents a challenge, shifting the workforce they are entering. Musteen said that there is a widening skills gap due to AI’s replacement of entry level jobs — many students come to her worried that there will not be a place for them once they graduate.

To fill that gap, Musteen recommends focusing on honing education and experience.

“That is, in part, why we give our students these experiential projects,” Musteen said. “Many of them may not have tons of years behind them, but have said, ‘When I go for an interview, I can speak about these three different projects where I worked with these companies in depth. I worked with executives. I’m prepared. I’m not green anymore.”

Over the past five years of the Master of Science in Global Business Development program, Musteen said the university has increasingly seen students who already have at least one master’s degree enroll to deepen their resume.

The Wendy Gillespie Center for Advancing for Global Business recently launched a mentorship program to support students’ networking efforts and real-world learning.

Musteen plans to continue evolving global business programs at SDSU to help students succeed.

“I just love what I do,” Musteen said. “I fought it — becoming a professor — because both my parents were teachers, and I didn’t want to be a teacher. But somehow it happened. But I just love what I do. The combination of business and international is fascinating. It changes all the time.

“Every graduation ceremony… is extremely rewarding,” Musteen said.

San Diego State University
FOUNDED: 1897 (as the San Diego Normal School)
PRESIDENT: Adela de la Torre
HEADQUARTERS: San Diego
BUSINESS: Education
FACULTY AND STAFF: 6,890
WEBSITE: sdsu.edu
CONTACT: (619) 594-5200
NOTABLE: The oldest higher education institution in San Diego with more than 400,000 alumni, including notable figures like Former Federal Trade Commission chair Timothy Muris, Costco Cofounder Jim Sinegal and Baseball Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn.

Born and raised in San Diego, Madison takes great pride in local storytelling. Her coverage at the San Diego Business Journal includes tourism, hospitality, nonprofits, education and retail. An alumna of San Diego State University’s journalism program, she has written for publications including The San Diego Union-Tribune and The San Diego Sun. At the 2024 San Diego Press Club awards, Madison was recognized for her exemplary profile writing. She was also a speaker for the 2023 TEDx Conference at Bonita Vista High School. When she’s not working on her next story, Madison can be found performing music at a local restaurant or on one of San Diego’s many hiking trails.