Having experienced the Ohio Export Internship Program (OEIP) as a student at Fisher, Dominic DiCamillo knows full well the power and impact of the unique program. DiCamillo (BSBA ’16) reflected on his experience as part of the 2016 OEIP Showcase, an annual celebration of the accomplishments of the program’s students and partner companies.

“The OEIP challenged me to be a better student, a better employee, and it changed my perception of what an ‘international businessman’ could be,” DiCamillo told the students and company representatives in attendance. “The program empowers and enables Ohio students, its businesses and the state to succeed in the global marketplace. The small Ohio businesses I visited which were new to exporting were not afraid of competing internationally; they knew they could win, they simply did not know how—until OEIP.”

The event, held at the Ohio Statehouse Atrium, also recognized the critical partnerships that created the OEIP and have helped it thrive. Representatives from the program’s founding partners—Fisher and the Ohio Development Services Agency (DSA)—spoke of the impact the OEIP has had on students at Ohio State as well as on businesses across Ohio.

“We’re doing something right because it’s not every day that a program is recognized nationally by receiving the President’s E-Award for Excellence in Exporting from the Department of Commerce,” said Joyce Steffan, director of Undergraduate Global Business Initiatives at Fisher. “And that happened because of the effort of many who have contributed to the success of this program.

“Collaboration is the key, from university leaders, export subject-matter-experts, the business community, and to our DSA partners, who work together collectively to develop the global competencies needed in today’s global workforce.”

The Showcase honored the fifth cohort of OEIP interns—42 students from 12 universities across the state who provided Ohio companies with export-focused insights gained in the classroom at Fisher and at Youngstown State, another OEIP partner institution.

“This nationally recognized program shows how collaboration between universities, our state and the business community creates greater impact for all,” said Dr. Michael V. Drake, president of The Ohio State University. “Our students gain vital experience, and Ohio’s small and midsized companies expand their reach.”

2016 Ohio Export Internship Showcase slideshow

Supported by Ohio State’s Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER), which receives grant funding from the U.S. Department of Education, the OEIP was launched in 2012 to educate undergraduate business students on the fundamentals of exporting. The program features a spring semester export-focused course before pairing students with small to midsized companies as paid interns during the summer to help increase global sales.

Since its inception, 144 students from Ohio State and from universities across the state have helped increase export sales for 83 companies by an estimated $19 million. Students in the program have created export relationships in 29 new markets around the world, and 17 students have earned job offers as a result of their work with OEIP.