Fall 2019 - 59100 - PA 680PA - Policy Research Project

Rural Entrepreneurship in the US and Asia

On Enrollment in Sections

There are two “sections” in this course with enrollment open to LBJ School MGPS and MPAff students.  As of July 15, 2019 the Asia class focus is full. As of July 15, 2019 there are three persons enrolled in the trans-boundary US-Mexico class focus. The instructor will allow up to four additional persons to register in August 2019 for the US/Mexico transboundary component.

Section 1: Trans-Boundary Pollution Prevention Entrepreneurship

This class will work with to develop agreements that will allow development of small to medium scale organizations that can address trans-boundary pollution prevention and control that assists both Mexican and Texas governments in managing trans-boundary air, water, and solid waste pollution. Class members will work with staff of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the North American Development Bank (NADB), as well as existing for-profit companies, non-profit organizations, and Mexican universities, The class will seek to create and implement institutional structures to allow organizations to operate in both nations and receive money from both nations. One project deliverable will be a report to the TCEQ, NADB, and other clients. This project will cooperate with Mexican and affiliates who have worked on entrepreneurship in Mexico, including:

Ismael Aguilar Barrajas (Monterrey Tech)
Carlos Ross (CIGE in Monterrey)
Carlos Sheek Mayenberger (Professor Emeritus at EGADE)
Alex Ibarra (Monterrey Tech)
Pablo Rhi-Perez (Professor of Entrepreneurship, UT Brownsville)
David Gibson (IC2 Institute staff member)
Elsie Echeverri-Carroll (IC2 Institute staff member)

The Mexico section limit is 6 persons. Funds are available for student travel to Monterrey or Mexico City, as needed, including air travel, lodging, and meals.

Project Deliverables: Class members will develop a report to the government jurisdiction. While there may be active participation by graduate students and faculty of the counterpart universities, the UT students will carry the primary role in report preparation.

Section 2 Focus: Rural and Small City Entrepreneurship in Asia

The instructor plans two “think and do” field studies for UT graduate students addressing small city and rural entrepreneurship in Asia during the 2019-20 academic year. This section is already full with 13 participants and no additional students will be added in August 2019.

Japan, Fall 2019

The Fall 2019-20 class has a field component in Japan during August 18-26, 2019. The instructor has arranged for 8 Japanese government (JASSO) fellowships to support field study of rural and entrepreneurship and ecotourism in the Oosaki Islands in the Inland Sea in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan based at Oosaki Simojima, Kure-city, Hiroshima Prefecture, (https://sectouchitrip.com/history/1474).  This field study will include students from two Japanese universities [Hiroshima University (HU) and Doshisha University] and four Indian universities. The field study on the Oosaki Islands will occur during August 21-25, 2019.  During August 18-20 and August 26, class members will work together in Hiroshima, Japan. These Oosaki Islands are located relatively close to major cities and can be reached by rail, road and ferry. They are famous for their beauty, natural resources (forests, farms and fish), but have become depopulated through out-migration. Hiroshima University (UT) will pay field program expenses for an in-situ assessment of the potential for locally-owned and operated ecotourism businesses and other small-to-medium businesses that could employ existing residents, attract new employees and create local wealth and jobs. UT graduate students with JASSO scholarships will be able to pay all personal local costs in Japan through the JASSO grants, as well as a portion of the international travel costs. Students without JASSO scholarships will need to fund local expenses and international travel costs. Professor Eaton will assist students with fundraising.

Project Deliverables: Class members will develop a report to the government jurisdiction. While there may be active participation by graduate students and faculty of the counterpart universities, the UT students will carry the primary role in report preparation.

India, Spring 2020

The second field study for Spring 2020 will be in Goa, India during February 18 to 28, 2020 involving graduate students from HU and the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A). An additional client will be in the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), based in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. The project in Spring 2020 will focus on small urban and rural entrepreneurship and ecotourism in Goa, India. HU and IIM-A will cover field program expenses. The instructor will work with students to seek funds to cover costs from the UT-Austin International Student Fee Scholarship Program, UT crowd-sourcing, and other potential sources. The UT graduate students will need to raise on order of $1500 to cover international travel, lodging and food for the intensive ten-day field study in Goa.

Project Deliverables: Class members will develop a report to the government jurisdiction. While there may be active participation by graduate students and faculty of the counterpart universities, the UT students will carry the primary role in report preparation.