The U.S. Department of Education has awarded Florida International University a $1,128,000 grant, which will have a total impact of more than $2 million with matching funds, to establish a Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER).

The grant is one of just 15 CIBER grants awarded to leading universities across the country this year and the only award granted in Florida. The CIBER, housed at the university’s College of Business (FIU Business), will receive $282,000 each year for four years. The grants will be matched by FIU Business, bringing the total funding to nearly $2.3 million.

“We are honored and thrilled to be among the distinguished institutions to receive a CIBER grant,” said Joanne Li, dean of FIU Business. “With our strategic location in Miami, along with our strengths in international business education and research, Florida International University and the College of Business are uniquely positioned to provide locally and globally impactful programs through our CIBER.”

The CIBERs were created by Congress to increase and promote the nation’s capacity for international understanding and competitiveness. The CIBER at FIU Business intends to create and/or support more than 50 programs focusing on three themes: developing a bridge between Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region, fostering global intercultural fluency, and facilitating interdisciplinary impact and connectivity.

“The international business landscape is dramatically changing, with much trade now occurring directly between emerging markets such as China and Brazil,” said Sumit Kundu, associate dean of international programs at FIU Business. “FIU’s strong expertise, connections and programs in both Latin America and Asia ideally prepare us to train U.S. students to operate in this new world environment.”

The CIBER at FIU Business will support such activities as a global mindset boot camp for students; scholarships for international internships and study abroad; an international business seminar series; video chats that link FIU students with those in other countries; foreign language courses; and faculty research and development programs in South Korea, India and Cuba. Mary Ann Von Glinow, Knight Ridder Eminent Scholar Chair in International Management at FIU Business will serve as the CIBER’s director.

For information on the other universities to receive CIBER funding in 2018 please visit http://us-ciberweb.org/.