(Re)designing an International Marketing course: Engaging a diverse classroom in real-client projects

The world is changing. Educators in business administration, including marketing, face the challenge of providing relevant education. Students, as a primary stakeholder, are interested in competencies that make them (competitive) employable. The organizations (employers) are reducing their willingness to train new employees on the job and demand their immediate contribution to organizational goals. Society increasingly emphasizes that higher education must go beyond education and research into the third mission of direct contribution to community development and economic development. This article discusses the (re)designing of an international marketing course based on experimental learning and instructional design. The course is integrated into the local business community and uses, as an asset, a diverse student population to respond to challenges local businesses face in pursuing entrepreneurial internationalization. The effects of the course (re)design are measured through the course evaluations during the last three-year period. The goal of the article is to contribute to collegial discussion on engagement with the business community to increase relevance of education, as well as share ideas for systematic course design and delivery.