MIIS student speaks

Author: DAVID RICHINS, MBA Student Monterey, CA

As a Monterey Institute MBA student, I am not claiming to know what is best in regards to potential mergers or acquisitions. However, I would like to express my opinion on one aspect of the matter.

There are potential intrinsic benefits for such a merger in terms of broadened intellectual horizons, namely a unique combination of resources and ideas. I have a liberal arts background myself and I chose the Monterey Institute because it was one of the few places where I could pursue all my career interests - languages, business and international politics. It is precisely in these types of melting pots that unique ideas emerge. For example, now I find myself working on a grant-funded project in localization - the process of customizing products and marketing strategies so that they meet the linguistic, cultural, socio-political and legal requirements of foreign market environments. I get excited about the possibilities of combining concepts from a forty-year international marketing debate, an emerging multi-billion dollar software localization industry and the latest product development engineering techniques. I get to blend all of my career interests and study areas that I would otherwise consider unrelated.

Broad, conceptual thinkers such as those at Middlebury are the type of people needed for unique projects such as our localization center. A merger may open doors for students at Middlebury who wish to apply their language interests and analytical skills to solving increasingly complex global problems in both the public and private sector. The distinct aspects of the Monterey Institute and Middlebury could create a unique combination of resources.

I have come to learn that unlikely combinations often lead to the most innovative and effective solutions.