Bowling Green State University to be host school for state Export Program

Starting in the next semester, students at colleges in the Bowling Green area, such as the University of Findlay, will be provided training at Bowling Green State University’s campus.

The partnership between the Ohio Department of Development and Bowling Green State University will allow for students at BGSU’s College of Business to offer an export-focused class. Students who attend the course will be allowed to apply for export-related internships in Ohio as soon as May next year.

Bowling Green State University President, Rodney Rogers, was in attendance at the conference in the Robert W. and Patricia A. Maurer Center with Lydia Mihalik, Director of the Ohio Department of Development, and Ohio Department of Higher Education Chancellor Rudy Gardner, as well as Ohio State Senator Theresa Gaverone.

Mihalik was quoted by the Sandusky Register as saying about the partnership, “We’re very pleased that we have a university partner here in northwest Ohio. Until today, there were two parts in the state that did not have direct involvement.”

The Ohio Department of Development’s Office of Export Assistance and International Engagement leads the Ohio Export Internship Program which was started in 2012. The purpose of the program is to help businesses overcome staffing challenges by linking them up with interested students.

Before Bowling Green State University signed on to the program, students had to travel all over the state to other partner universities to attend the Ohio Export Internship Program.

Lydia Mihalik explained the extent of the reach Bowling Green State University would have, saying, “Beginning next semester, students will be able to take the export course right here. And the university will be able to recruit students from other universities. Students from Toledo, the University of Findlay or Tiffin University can come here.”

Ohio University in Athens is also joining Bowling Green State University as a partner in the program. The Ohio Export Internship Program also has four other universities among its ranks: Ohio State University, Cleveland State University, University of Dayton, and Youngstown State University.

Rodney Rogers spoke on the motivation for joining the program, saying, “As a public university for the public good, BGSU is committed to supporting businesses, our communities and to help drive economic vitality.”

Students will take the export course in the spring semester and will be allowed an internship in the summer. Any student enrolled in a college or university in Ohio can enroll in the course, but must take it at one of the six universities involved in the program. The Department of Development will pay half of the wages paid by a company who takes on one of these students as an intern.

Rogers expressed the school’s excitement to be included in this partnership: “We are pleased to collaborate with the Ohio Department of Development to provide robust opportunities to our students and help move our region and Ohio forward. Through this partnership, Bowling Green State University will meet Ohio’s workforce needs and support the success of our students.” 

Since the beginning of the program in 2021, 411 students have worked with 232 Ohio companies on improving their export programs, according to Mihalik. The program led to 136 internships, nearly half of which led to new full time jobs.

Students who want to take part in the export program at Bowling Green State University can contact the associate dean of the Schmidthorst College of Business, Zubair Mohamed, by email at zubairm@bgsu.edu.

More information about the Ohio Export Internship Program can be found on the Ohio Department of Development's website.

Students interested in this program, or any of the other opportunities offered by Bowling Green State University can visit the school’s website.