Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/499026
40 BizEd MAY | JUNE 2015 Third, the program builds capacity among our faculty as it exposes them to new experiences. For instance, our ju- nior faculty are growing more confident as they supervise doctoral candidates. In addition, all of our professors have opportunities to study business and development processes in Rwanda and surrounding regions, which are gaining ground as some of the world's most dy- namic economies. The interest among our faculty has grown to an extent where we now talk about Into Africa as a major and long-term growth strategy for JIBS. Fourth, JIBS' other PhD candidates benefit by interacting with their peers from Rwanda—and so do the rest of our students. A few months after the Rwandan PhD candidates joined JIBS, they attended a meeting with bachelor's and master's students, and there was in- tense interest on both sides. Soon after, several younger JIBS students decided to orient their thesis work toward issues relevant to Ethiopia, Rwanda, and simi- lar countries. It builds networks. The JIBS/UR collaboration accomplishes another purpose at a higher level—it builds valuable networks among the many stakeholders at both institutions. As participating faculty publish research and students graduate with master's and PhD degrees, we expect they will form wide-ranging connections that promote international development, entrepre- neurial activities, and family business- es. Joint research projects could help Rwandan and Swedish stakeholders identify and act on trends relevant to businesses in both nations. We believe that such collaborations eventually could become the basis for partnerships between small- and medium-sized enterprises and NGOs in Sweden and Rwanda. Their collabora- tion even could lead to alliances between the two governments, where key objec- tives include increasing international development, social responsibility, and sustainability. In short, we envision that this model of internationalizing JIBS' education will do more than create a few short-term advantages; it will lead to many deep long-term benefits for both Sweden and Rwanda. PATH TO PROSPERITY This collaborative model of business education oƒers another important future benefit to regional economies. According to the "economic complexity" concept in economic theory, prosperity rises only when nations have complex networks of businesses—when they share broad-based knowledge and unique skills in industries and services that cannot be replicated elsewhere. For instance, textile factories and furniture manufacturers can be located in many diƒerent countries, and they can be relocated wherever wages and opera- tions are less costly. But rockets, robots, high-speed trains, medical equipment, precision tools, and high-level technol- ogy can be designed and built only in a small number of places. By its very nature, economic com- plexity creates the need for an educated, enlightened citizenry with certain skills and knowledge. More important, it leads to millions of direct, advanced-level, high-paying jobs, as well as indirect, less advanced-level jobs that supply and ser- vice the more complex functions of the economy. Combined, all of this activity improves per capita income, contrib- utes to a nation's GDP, and builds wide- spread prosperity. We believe the JIBS/UR collabora- tion will help Rwanda develop a stronger knowledge-based infrastructure and an educated class of workers. With our mutual focus on entrepreneurship, family-owned business, and renewal of industry, we are not just increasing the University of Rwanda's academic capac- JIBS' collaboration with African universities aligns with its three guiding principles.