Competitive Response to Globalization
The Neil D. Levin Institute of International Relations and Commerce of the State University of New York proposes to establish a Center for Competitive Response to Globalization to help New York businesses better respond to the new business challenges engendered by global competition. Working together with regional economic development programs, and in cooperation with campuses across the State University of New York, Levin’s Center for Competitive Response to Globalization will develop and deliver educational programs targeted at helping business owners, economic development personnel, labor leaders, and others to better understand the local ramifications of globalization, and develop adaptive strategies and tactics to boost business performance, and maintain jobs in the State. In addition to these short, certificate programs, the Center also will produce conferences, publish electronic newsletter updates, and deliver usable information about the business and technology aspects of globalization via a specialized web-site, www.globalization101.org. This web-site has enormous reach, owing to its unique position as the second web-site listed in response to the query “globalization” on Google.
The rise of the so-called BRICs nations such as China as forces of change in the global economy, and as more active players in the world’s technology marketplace, is happening more quickly than any observers could have predicted. The ascendancy of these countries presents critical challenges and opportunities for American workers and businesses, and has prompted concerns at many levels. A response of protectionist trade policies would be ill-advised. The spirit of this proposal is based on the proven effective competitiveness of American workers and businesses, but recognizes that global competition is fundamentally different in this era – with new challenges and new opportunities. Because of the speed of this emergence, few businesses, and even fewer regional economic development programs are prepared to respond to realities of global competition, nor the potential for collaboration that are presented. At stake is continued US leadership in global competition, and more pointedly, jobs for American workers.
Levin Institute, a new branch of the State University of New York, was chartered early this decade to “enable future generations to gain the advanced knowledge, skills, and experience necessary to succeed in a global economy”. All of Levin’s programs – for graduate students, for professionals, for executives and for the general public – are organized around the new issues created by the irreversible trend of globalization. Levin’s team has been chosen for its international experience in the academic, business, and policy arena. As an entirely new educational institute, Levin is built upon a new model, not of a permanent tenured faculty, but rather of a carefully selected expert faculty chosen for specific global expertise in the subject at hand. Levin’s programs are a mix of classroom instruction, interaction with successful New York based practitioners, and global, real world projects. These will be the qualities of the programs Levin will develop under the proposed Center.
Levin seeks modest start-up funding to create the initial programs to be offered through the Center. Since these funds will support the competitiveness of the US economy, as well as the economic development ambitions of New York City and State, funds will be sought from Federal, State, City and private sources. It is intended that the Center will, over time, become self-sufficient through revenues from its programs.