CEU-UCH students prepare an internationalization plan for an oil cooperative in collaboration with US students

Students from the Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera de Elche are working with students of US universities in the internationalization plan of the Oil Cooperative of Milena, in the Alicante region of Cocentaina.

The work team is formed by seven students from three different universities of Oklahoma and ten of CEU-UCH. They are receiving education in their relevant centres in areas such as marketing, commerce, corporate world and design. The purpose of the project is to design an internationalization plan for the introduction in the US market of the products of this oil cooperative.

The challenge

Is none other than to encourage academic cooperation between students from different university centres within the framework of the “Oklahoma project”, which is an international initiative to favour entrepreneurship. It is promoted by students from the Oral Roberts University, along with others from the Oklahoma State University and the Oklahoma University.

The goal is to jointly create the “Project Export Olive Oil from the Cocentaina Mountain to the US”.

This project has not only a commercial and marketing component but also a social one given the historic and cultural implications of oil in our territory.

Ana Isabel Mateos, Professor of Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera in Elche.

Participants and their duties

The project led by Professor Bruno Teles from the US and Pere Martínez from CEU-UCH has been proposed for year 2018-19 by three US students. The students of the four participating universities will work individually and through video-conferences.

On the one hand, Americans who specialize in marketing, business and graphic design and web areas will investigate the US market. They will be in charge of identifying rates, FDA requirements, logistic issues, costs and distribution as well as of identifying potential partners such as local producers. They will also work to set prices, branding and the packaging design.

On the other, the ten CEU-UCH students will have to identify the legal requirements for the cooperative or PYME to export as well as the tax advantages for exports to the US, policies on Government subsidies for the export of olive oil, credit facilities for exporters of this product and other subsidies which may apply.

A project with international scope

In order to progress in the two last stages of the project, the students of Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera will visit in April the Oklahoma State University. In June it will the turn of US students who will spend the whole month in Cocentaina. Once they finish their students, CEU students will join them.

This proposal is a good example of how CEU Universities boost the practical implementation of the knowledge acquired in lecture rooms to the preparation of real projects, in addition to team work and multi-cultural environments, very similar to those our students will find in their professional career.