Imagine health care coverage at a cost of $3 a year. Or an entire consumer banking system moving to mobile phones for a public without Internet access. These are innovations taking place in emerging markets out of necessity as these economies rise at an incredible pace, in particular China, India, Brazil and Russia. Along with innovation, these countries are also changing global competition, the financial landscape and the future of business – creating opportunities and challenges for U.S. industry and government.

Seniors Chris DeCaro, Tran Hoang and Anchal Gugliani ended their final undergraduate year in triumph. The trio competed in the Huffy Bike Competition, during which they created an extensive marketing campaign for the bike company and took home first place. They received $1,000 to donate to a charity of their choice and each student received a brand new bike and invaluable experience creating the campaign. “I thought it was cool to see a project go from beginning to end. We were given a problem and had to narrow it down to exactly how we wanted to solve it,” DeCaro said.

Imagine health care coverage at a cost of $3 a year. Or an entire consumer banking system moving to mobile phones for a public without Internet access. These are innovations taking place in emerging markets out of necessity as these economies rise at an incredible pace, in particular China, India, Brazil and Russia. Along with innovation, these countries are also changing global competition, the financial landscape and the future of business – creating opportunities and challenges for U.S. industry and government.

Conglomerate holding company Berkshire Hathaway is one of the world’s most respected companies, run by legendary investor Warren Buffett. Holders of the New York Stock Exchange’s priciest stock will make the pilgrimage to Omaha, Nebraska next week for the company’s annual shareholder meeting – and a group of lucky undergraduates will go along for the ride to learn about the company, its impact on the economy, and hear words of wisdom from the “Oracle of Omaha” himself.

A group of five students won the 2011 Wikler Case Competition on Friday, April 15, 2011, after weeks of preparing to compete against six other peer groups. The groups argued a case titled, “Valuation of AirThread Connections” to judges earlier in the day. The case, which came from Harvard Business Publishing, involved the acquisition of AirThread Connections, a large regional cellular provider, by American Cable Communications.

The year 2011 marks the 100th anniversary of IBM, and students, faculty and staff at the Robert H. Smith School of Business heard just what it took for the company to reach its centennial.

Thursday, April 14, 2011 @ 5:00 p.m.BB&T Colloquium on Capitalism, Ethics and LeadershipStan Litow, IBM: Beyond Responsibility: The Role of Corporate Citizenship in Modern Business1524 Van Munching Hall, Frank AuditoriumCollege Park, Md. On Thursday, April 14, 2011, Center for Leadership, Innovation and Change (CLIC) at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business will host the BB&T Colloquium on Capitalism, Ethics and Leadership, with featured speaker Stanley S. Litow of IBM.

Lead smarter. That’s the goal with strategic management, which can help managers detect the early indicators that strategy isn’t working. In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Dr. Oliver Schlake talks about management strategy.

The Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland is proud to announce that first-year Smith MBA student Lakshmi Sankar and her team placed first at the 2011 Sony Marketing Strategy Case Competition, held February 18–19, 2011.