Students and Faculty Testimonials

EMPOWER
GROWTH

As a professor, I am deeply grateful for the support offered by GIOBA’s professional staff and hands-on management methods. Traveling overseas with students and working with real clients always involve risk, but GIOBA helps us manage those risks successfully.

Our student response to this program has been outstanding and has drawn the attention of senior administration at our university. We select students based on GPA, prerequisite courses, and student conduct. We are able to be selective as we routinely have more students apply than we can accept. The students that register for this course are among the best students in the business school; they are eager to do a good job and pour a great amount of energy into the task of completing this team-based consulting project.

Students view the course as an opportunity to gain an international internship-like experience rather than as a typical “spring break trip.” Year after year, they report that potential employers are fascinated by their work, and several students credit the Prague program with helping them secure employment upon graduation.”

Dr. Nivine Richie, CFA, Associate Dean of Graduate Programs, Professor of Finance

University North Carolina Wilmington, Cameron School of Business

TRANSFORM THROUGH AUTHENTICITY

GIOBA offers invaluable benefits that are hard to find elsewhere. They have deep knowledge of the local business environment, which enables them to arrange business meetings with companies that align with our interests. Their flexibility and respect for our project needs allow them to find clients that match our expectations, ensuring that our goals are met.

Beyond logistics, GIOBA goes above and beyond to design programs that offer our students and faculty a chance to explore not only what they want but also unexpected opportunities they wouldn’t have considered. The passion and authenticity of GIOBA plays a key role in the success of these experiences. Their love for what they do and their genuine approach give our students a fully immersive cultural experience, one that extends far beyond the classroom and leaves a lasting impact.

Dr. David Raška, Chief of Experiential Growth and Associate Professor of Marketing

Northern Kentucky University, Haile/US Bank College of Business

LEAD WITH COURAGE

“I had the pleasure of working with GIOBA during one of my “self-organized” visits to Prague. During that trip, we had some last-minute cancellations and GIOBA stepped in and successfully arranged a full day of excellent activities in less than 36 hours. Very impressive!

As a result, we opted to return to the Czech Republic the following year and hired GIOBA as our provider organization.I make it a priority to take my MBA students to Europe at least every other year (we are a small program) because of the dynamic growth in the region and the quality of educational and consulting opportunities in the region. GIOBA blends historic, cultural, social, economic, consulting, and leadership team discussions that are customized to your specific Student Learning Outcomes and consulting project requirements. GIOBA’s knowledge and expertise with European programs are outstanding.

No cookie-cutter programming here!

Marietta Stalcup, MBA, Director of Graduate Programs

Butler University, Lacy School of Business

Working with a team of fellow students from the USA and with different backgrounds was also an incredibly enriching experience. We learned from each other's perspectives, built strong teamwork, and camaraderie. The most valuable takeaway was working on an ESG-focused project - now crucial in business - which gave me firsthand insight into the challenges companies face in balancing stakeholders’ needs with profitability and effectively communicating sustainability initiatives.

MBA Student, University of Surrey, UK

MAKE A GLOBAL IMPACT

"With absolute certainty, I can say that one of the major highlights of my experience with the UNCW Executive MBA program was the opportunity to partner with GIOBA in Prague, Czech Republic. The consulting project with Harley Davidson Central and Eastern Europe designed by GIOBA offered myself and my fellow MBA students a very unique educational experience.

In a short period of time, it was necessary for us to work together and utilized each individual's skills in order to not only complete the project but also to deliver the client a quality final product that could be useful. GIOBA and its leaders did a wonderful job communicating the client's needs and helping our group stay on track for project completion. I have memories from that experience that will last a lifetime.

I hope that any student who has the opportunity to experience an International project with GIOBA takes advantage of that opportunity. They will certainly not regret it."

EMBA Student, UNCW, Cameron School of Business

"I am honored to recommend GIOBA to your organization. In 2002 St. Edward's University established a strategic priority for every student to have the opportunity for a global learning experience. I immediately targeted Europe, Asia, and Latin America as general locations for faculty-led student trips abroad. I was fortunate to meet GIOBA early on in the planning process to discuss my ideas and ask for their help in designing the program. Each of my GIOBA planned trips abroad was designed to include real-world, real-time projects to help build MBA students' resumes.

GIOBA's expertise in program development, integrating aspects of history, culture, and society into business consulting projects was amazing. I chose chose them for a program in the Czech Republic for the first trip location, and later for GIOBA planned programs in Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, and Germany, returning to the Czech Republic on a couple of other occasions. GIOBA' far and away' outperformed the other learning service providers that I had used in Asia and Latin America. Their detailed planning process, communication with faculty and students, attention to detail, quality of consulting projects, organizational visits, expert speakers, and ability to change as required has made GIOBA the benchmark in student travel abroad programs."

Dr. Gary Pletcher, former Director of Global Business Institute

St. Edward's University, The Bill Munday School of Business

EMBRACE CULTURAL DIVERSITY

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”