Business on the Go – Expert Speakers from UA’s College of Business
Looking to bring real-world business insights to your classroom or community group? The University of Akron’s College of Business offers Business on the Go, a speaker series designed to connect you with industry experts and faculty who bring business concepts to life.
Choose from a variety of engaging topics, or let us know if you have a specific request—we’re happy to customize a session to fit your needs! Presentations typically last 40-45 minutes and provide valuable insights to inspire your audience.
Let’s make business learning interactive and exciting!
Life of a College Student
College of Business Dean's Team
Join a College of Business student leader as they share their inspiring journey from high school to college—highlighting the academic, leadership, and social experiences that helped shape their path. This session will offer helpful tips on making the most of college life, staying connected on campus, using available resources, and embracing both the exciting opportunities and challenges that come with being a college student.
The Entrepreneurial Mindset
This interactive discussion on entrepreneurship and innovation explores the benefits of adopting an entrepreneurial mindset to create new ventures, solve problems, and navigate uncertainty. It also addresses misconceptions about entrepreneurship and emphasizes how it shapes the future.
Global Cultural Competency
This session will cover key skills for successful cultural interactions, focusing on cultural norms and dimensions. Students will gain awareness of cultural differences and the importance of an open-minded approach.
An Immigrant Story
Having grown up on a farm in Israel and eventually becoming a tax lawyer at a top firm in New York City, Professor Doron Narotski has experienced firsthand how dreams can become reality, even when they seem impossible. The goal is for students to understand that with determination and a willingness to try, they too can achieve their goals, no matter where they start."
Metacognition!
In this interactive session, students will explore learning strategies, Bloom's taxonomy, and assess their academic progress. They’ll engage with polling software and gain insights into their learning styles and goals for college and beyond.
Introduction to Leadership
Your Leadership Style
The Importance of Feedback
Group Dynamics & Connection
Lead Like Queen Bey (Leadership Through Pop Culture)
Being on a Team
Leadership & Group Dynamics: How to Lead a Team
Jeff Klemm, Senior Director of Professional Development & Strategic Engagement at the Professional Development Center, presents insightful sessions on leadership and teamwork. From understanding your unique leadership style to navigating group dynamics and feedback, Jeff explores how to lead effectively, even drawing inspiration from pop culture icons like Beyoncé.
Mergers and Acquisitions
Students will learn about the key aspects of corporate mergers and acquisitions, including why and when companies buy other corporations and how they navigate this complex process, from brainstorming to the technical steps involved.
Tax Planning – What does it really look like
Tax planning is often a misunderstood concept, with many people having little knowledge of its importance. This session will provide a clearer understanding of how it works and why it’s essential for financial success.
Accounting!
Students will learn about careers in accounting, the CPA license, and its role in various career paths. They will participate in an activity where they classify statements as "income," "deduction," or "no impact" on a tax return, with the level of detail adjusted for the age group.
Activity-Based Costing
In this activity, students will learn to measure product costs using both traditional and activity-based costing methods, then compare the results. They'll see how additional manufacturing data can improve pricing and profitability.
How do Economies Grow over Time?
Despite two centuries of growth, global poverty persists, with half the population living on less than $5.50 a day. This presentation will explore economic growth, its sources, the link to inequality, and policies to boost growth.
The Economics of Cryptocurrencies
With the abundance of cryptocurrency hype online, this presentation provides an economist's objective view on their true value. Students will gain insights into cryptocurrencies and learn the conditions necessary for something to be considered money.
The Economics of Sports
Professional sports generate billions of dollars in economic activity every year. This presentation provides an economist's objective view on what the value of sports teams is to local economies and when it is and is not worth using taxpayer money to support them.
Business Data Analytics: The Power of Critical Thinking
In this hands-on session, students will use data to tackle organizational questions, learning how to distinguish correlation from causation. The session covers basic statistics and Excel skills to help analyze data effectively.
College Path: An Economic Analysis
This presentation introduces students to economic data to inform their college decisions, covering income by major, job title, location, and workforce stats for a cost-benefit analysis alongside their passions.
Law and Economics: Exploring the Intersection of Markets and the Law
This session explores how economic reasoning is applied in legal settings to resolve disputes and make decisions. Students will learn about the importance of economics in law and discover career opportunities that combine both fields, offering a competitive edge in the job market.
Financial Literacy: Managing Money and Planning for the Future
Eric Brisker, Ph.D.; Taufiq Quadria, Ph.D.; Latoria Hamilton, MBA; Mary Becker, Ph.D.
Understanding how to manage finances is key to success. Students will explore budgeting, saving, investing, and retirement planning, gaining practical advice to make informed financial decisions now and in the future. This is ideal for those taking Financial Literacy or anyone interested in personal finance.
Introduction to Investments: Navigating Stocks and Bonds
Investing doesn’t have to be intimidating. Students will learn the basics of stocks, bonds, and how portfolios reduce risk in this beginner-friendly session, ideal for high school students or anyone interested in investment strategies.
Exploring Careers in Finance, Financial Planning, and Risk Management
Eric Brisker, Ph.D., Taufiq Quadria, Ph.D.; Latoria Hamilton, MBA; Mary Becker, Ph.D.
Interested in a finance career? This session offers an overview of diverse opportunities in finance, financial planning, and risk management & insurance. Students will learn about various roles, from financial analysts to risk managers, and how to get started.
Global Supply Chain Management
Participants will design an efficient Global Supply Chain network, addressing risks like pandemics. By the end, they'll understand key supply chain concepts, risk strategies, and the challenges and opportunities in Supply Chain Management.
So You Are Wondering What It’s Like to Work in the Sport Industry?
In this interactive session, students will apply business principles to real-world challenges in the sports industry. They’ll gain insight into sport analytics, marketing, and management, learning how business knowledge shapes the sports world and their career paths.
Careers in Management: Pathways to Leadership
Students will explore management career paths, including project management and executive leadership, while learning about essential skills, qualifications, and steps like choosing the right major and gaining internships. They'll gain insights into becoming a business leader and preparing for a successful career.
Career Preparation: Building Your Path to Success
Students will learn career preparation strategies, including goal setting, resume building, interviews, and networking, to gain experience and develop a professional presence for success.
Strategic Management: Navigating the Business World
Students will learn strategic management principles through case studies and discussions, exploring competition, strategy, and decision-making for careers in management, consulting, or business strategy.
Leadership Essentials: Leading with Impact
Steve Ash, Ph.D.; Scott Bible, M.A.
Students will explore key leadership qualities like communication, decision-making, and team motivation. Through discussions and activities, they'll learn how leadership shapes success, making this session ideal for those interested in leadership roles in business or organizations.
The Power of Leadership & Human Resources in Business
Steve Ash, Ph.D.; Scott Bible, M.A.
Students will explore how leadership shapes company culture, team dynamics, and goals, alongside key HR practices like recruitment and performance management, highlighting their role in driving business success.
Improving Decision-making
Students will gain an understanding of some of the cognitive biases that impact decision-making and some techniques to overcome those problems.
Marketing: The Art & Science of Connecting with Consumers
In this session, students will explore Marketing as both an art and science, learning about career opportunities, trends, and how marketing creates value for consumers, companies, and society.
The Future of Analytics: Learning and Leading with a Purpose
This presentation explores using data to solve real-world problems, like improving algorithms and protecting the environment. Students will learn about the future of analytics, including augmented reality, data visualization, and AI.
We Are All Consumers & Marketers: How Marketing Goes Beyond Advertising & Plays a Role in Daily Life
In this activity-based session, students will apply strategic marketing principles to real-life scenarios, highlighting marketing's impact on daily life. The goal is to explore marketing beyond advertising and show its relevance to everyone, regardless of interest or career path.
Don’t Just Talk, Listen: How Social Listening Helps Marketers Succeed on Social Media
In this activity-based session, students will experience a real, enterprise-grade social media monitoring platform. Learn the importance of social listening for collecting consumer data and making strategic recommendations to marketing managers.
Getting a Great Sales Job in Today's World
Sales is a driving force behind every successful company. Without growth, a business struggles to survive. Many overlook the incredible career opportunities that sales offers, where you can help clients, develop valuable skills, and build a great career. In this session, students will gain a clear understanding of what a sales career truly entails (and what it doesn’t) and discover the many opportunities available to those with sales expertise.
Data Visualization
In this activity-based session, students will learn to develop a critical approach to their work through data visualization. Using a sample dataset, they'll apply best practices like choosing the right chart types and deriving meaningful insights to enhance their ability to use data for business decisions.