In the summer of 1977, a small group of students boarded a plane with their professor to do something almost nobody was doing yet. They sat across the table from real executives at real companies in another country and learned how global business actually works. That first trip became the blueprint for everything Global Learning Opportunities does today. Nearly five decades later, more than 33,000 students and lifelong learners have followed that same path across 650+ seminars around the world.

As we head into our 50th year, this is the story of who we are, where we have been, and why students and universities keep choosing to travel with us.

Where It All Started

Global Learning Opportunities began life as International Business Seminars, or IBS. The idea came from Daniel C. Brenenstuhl, now Professor Emeritus at the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. While he was pursuing his doctorate at Indiana University, Dan kept circling one question. What if students could step directly into the international business world instead of only reading about it in a classroom?

He planned the first seminar in 1976 and ran it in the summer of 1977. At the time, nothing quite like it existed. Even now, very few programs offer what that first trip offered. Students did not just tour a city. They walked into companies, met the people running them, and came home seeing the world differently.

The name changed to Global Learning Opportunities, but the mission has not. We still prepare lifelong learners for the next stage of their lives by helping them understand the cultural, social, and political landscape of every country they visit.

Fifty Years, By the Numbers

Here is what half a century of programs adds up to:

• Since 1977: nearly 50 years of continuous programs
• 33,000+ alumni who have traveled with us
• 650+ executive seminars delivered around the world
• 12+ countries currently on our active program map, spanning Europe, Asia, and Africa
• 4-star accommodations, the kind of hotels companies book for employees on real business trips

Every one of those alumni carries a version of the same experience. They walked into a boardroom before they ever had a business card, and they carried that confidence into interviews, first jobs, and careers.

Where GLO Takes Students

Over the years our programs have reached students across more than a dozen countries on three continents. Today the active map includes Japan (Tokyo and Kyoto), Italy (Milan and Verona), France (Paris), Iceland (Reykjavik), South Africa (Cape Town), Germany (Munich), the United Kingdom (London), Austria (Innsbruck), Switzerland (Lausanne, Zurich, and Basel), the Netherlands (The Hague), Southeast Asia (Thailand and Vietnam), and more

Each destination is chosen for a reason. Germany means manufacturing. London means finance. Iceland means sustainability leadership. Southeast Asia means fast-moving emerging markets. Students see how business actually gets done in the place where it happens.

The Companies Students Meet

The heart of every GLO program is the company visit. This is not a lobby tour. Students sit down with executives and ask real questions. Past visits have included BMW in Germany, Coca-Cola across its international operations, AT&T, IKEA in Southeast Asia, and Intel in Vietnam. Student groups have also spent time with Chelsea Football Club, Lloyds of London, Swarovski, and RIEDEL, among many others.

Employers remember stories. A graduate who can name the company, name the executive, and describe what surprised them in that meeting stands out. That is the kind of story a GLO program hands you.

How the Model Works

GLO programs are short-term, faculty-led, and multi-destination. They typically run one to three weeks and are built around summer, winter, and spring break so students can travel without pausing their degree. A single program packs in company visits, faculty-led seminars, cultural programming, and travel across multiple cities.

Programs are designed to carry university credit through partner institutions, so students stay on track for graduation. Any student can join, regardless of which school they attend, and faculty can travel with their own students on a program shaped around their department’s goals.

The Universities We Travel With

GLO works directly with faculty and study abroad offices to build programs that meet each institution’s academic standards. Confirmed university partners include the University of North Carolina Wilmington, Murray State University, Northern Illinois University, the University of Mississippi, Louisiana State University, and the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. Programs have also traveled with groups from Texas A&M’s Mays Business School and Arizona State’s W.P. Carey School of Business, where our founder taught for decades.

That partner network keeps growing every year as more departments look for international experiences that give students something beyond standard tourism.

Turning 50 in 2027

In 2027, Global Learning Opportunities turns 50. It is a milestone that belongs to every student, professor, and partner who has traveled with us since that first 1977 seminar. Across the anniversary year we are celebrating five decades of alumni stories, revisiting the destinations that shaped the program, and honoring the faculty who made each trip possible.

The mission that started it all is the same one carrying us into the next 50 years. We help students see the world clearly, think globally, and step into their careers with a perspective most of their peers do not have.

For Students and For Faculty

If you are a student, this is your invitation to make your first business trip abroad the thing your resume and your interviews are built around. You do not need to be ready. The students with the best stories in ten years are the ones who go now.

If you are a faculty member or administrator, GLO is a proven structure for building or expanding a faculty-led study abroad portfolio without carrying the logistics alone. We handle the planning so you can focus on your students and your curriculum.

Explore current GLO programs and destinations, or reach out about building a faculty-led program with your department. Fifty years in, the invitation is the same as it was in 1977. Come see how the world really works.

Frequently Asked Questions