For the past several years, Professor Megan Mocko from the Warrington College of Business has had an ongoing collaboration with Professor Ricardo Lopez from the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador to implement a virtual exchange project between their classes, which has now been offered four times. This summer, their collaboration expanded when Professor Mocko was awarded funding from the UF International Center and the Center for Latin American Studies to facilitate a research tutorial abroad.
Professor Mocko and two UF undergraduate students traveled to Ecuador and, together with Professor Lopez, conducted oral history interviews with business professionals around Quito.
In Quito, they visited Pronaca, a large food distributor, and Kaaru, a Greek yogurt manufacturer. The executives at Karuu discussed the potential of using data and AI to optimize supply chains in distributing perishable Greek yogurts. At Chaide, they heard about how the company has incorporated a set of values that are communicated during the hiring process and its adherence to recent data privacy regulations in Ecuador.
In San Cristobal, they visited three local businesses and learned about the island's importance of entrepreneurship and sustainability. They spoke with Giovanni Sarigu about the importance of listening as a part of communication and knowing your audience.
Professors Lopez and Mocko will continue their collaboration with another implementation of their virtual exchange project this fall semester and also hope to conduct a two-way study abroad in spring 2025.