Marketing students from Germany studying in Fresno are teamed with students in the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at California State University, Fresno to develop marketing plans for a new beverage a Fresno company plans to launch into the European market.

Eight students from Nurtingen-Geislingen University in southwestern Germany are enrolled in “Successful Global Innovation,” offered during the three-week intersession and co-sponsored by the university’s Craig School of Business International Business Program.

They are working in four teams with six Fresno State students enrolled in the course to devise innovative strategies to introduce Click®, an espresso-flavored protein drink, in Europe. Current distributors include Costco, Amazon.com, the Vitamin Shoppe, drugstore.com, GNC, bodybuilding.com, vitacost.com and netrition.com.

The students plan culminating presentations 9 a.m.-noon Thursday, June 10, at the Pete P. and Leon S. Peters Education Center within the Student Recreation Center. A reception and certification ceremony 2-3 p.m. is free and open to the public.

Fresno State students are Kenneth Borg, Dhruv Doshi, Nicole Khodabandeh, Nicholas Ramon, Nicolas Ventresca and Shang Wang. Participating from Nurtingen-Geislingen University are Grazia de Tulio, Susanne Franz, Jessica Heider, Fabian Kraft, Katrin Kremser, Andreas Ley, Hiba Malik and Nadine Steinhubel.

Dr. Iris Ramme, international academic supervisor, international key academic coordinator and professor of marketing and research at the German university and the course adviser, said the class provides students with a working knowledge of entrepreneurship and global marketing.

“What makes it very interesting is the mix of American and German students who work in intercultural teams,” Ramme said. “The best part is the hands-on experience they gain.”

For more information, contact Dr. Timothy Stearns, executive director of the Lyles Center, at 559.294.2045 or timothys@csufresno.edu.

(Athena Yee, a Lyles Center public relations intern, contributed to this copy.)

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