Uunderstanding the importance of interactive learning, Dawit Eshetu has made applied research a “unique feature” of his course curriculum.

Dawit is the co-ordinator of Niagara College’s International Commerce and Global Development Applied Business Degree program, one of the college’s four-year degree programs.

The program contains three courses with a specific applied research area of focus for the students, the first being International Market Research, which covers the identifications of overseas entrepreneurial opportunities and challenges and requires skills including data collection and analysis, developing an action plan and presenting findings.

What makes the course more unique is that students are researching international markets for real industry partners, providing solutions that can be applied in legitimate business plans, said Dawit.

“The project is done in tandem with industry partners and it can be something that is in the specific interest of the students,” he said. “This is a very, very important aspect of the curriculum.”

The second applied research course in the program is International Market Strategy, a follow-up to the first course that has students explore their findings further and identify an international market strategy for an industry partner with specifics on promotions, pricing and distribution.

The third course, International Trade Management, pulls the work together and has students develop a formal business plan and implement their expansion strategy, said Dawit.

“Applied research is a very interesting component of our program and part of what makes Niagara a unique learning destination,” he said. “It provides intense job preparation with a structured, clear-cut approach.”