CCT & The International Business Diplomacy Certificate Program

CCT Students: Are you familiar with the IBD Certification Program?

The Landegger Program in International Business Diplomacy (IBD) is an honors certificate program that offers students the opportunity to participate in an interdisciplinary course of study that complements their academic interests and degree. This multidisciplinary program at the graduate level offers a bridge between degree programs and concentrations and graduate schools, including CCT, MSFS, and the Law School. The primary mission of IBD is to train students for work at the intersection of international public and private sector activities and is a rigorous academic program that emphasizes the role of business in the international arena. The program integrates coursework in data science, accounting, business-government relations, global business strategy, business ethics, global investment, ESG investment, project finance, political risk analysis, and entrepreneurship. It also combines an intensive case method approach to global corporate operations with an analysis of key economic and political issues in international trade, finance, and investment.

CCT students Zuriel Robledo and Justin Potisit attend an IBD event.

CCT student, Zuriel Robledo (CCT ’23), was a candidate of the IBD certificate this spring. He had always been business-oriented academically and interested in building a startup. While taking IBD classes, he found that taking the entrepreneurship courses were helpful in understanding the basics of running your own business and creating a startup business plan while reviewing case studies on global businesses and challenges/opportunities for companies. He appreciated that IBD is an interdisciplinary course of study similar to CCT, but applied to business, social service, and international public and private activities.

Zuriel first learned about the IBD program after starting at CCT and wanted to narrow down his CCT focus to be more business-oriented. He found the IBD program to be a perfect fit where he was able to apply projects and knowledge from CCT directly into his courses in the program. He particularly enjoyed taking CCT classes that counted towards the IBD certificate, such as Professor Robert Matthew’s Future of Corporate Communications, Professor Meg Leta Jones’ Digital Law and Policy, and Professor Martin Irvine’s Introduction to AI Cloud Computing. Due to specific CCT courses counting directly towards the IBD certification, he found it easy to apply to the program and even took Professor Jones’ class his first semester without realizing it counted towards the certificate!

Zuriel also appreciated that being part of IBD gave him access to a larger alumni network, including many graduates and undergraduates from SFS. He explained that IBD students get access to various events hosted during the semester including workshops, meals, and guest speakers that all have the goal of adding in new resources for IBD networking and education. He particularly enjoyed an IBD consulting workshop that laid out the basics of starting your own consulting business or preparing yourself to join a larger firm like Deloitte. He noted the IBD certificate was an additional bonus that allows participating students to stand out with a certification on their degree. He also encourages students to visit the IBD website or speak with Ai-Hui on fulfilling program prerequisites – such as intro to data science, accounting, or basic business courses – many of which students may have already completed with their undergraduate degrees.

Zuriel highly recommends that CCT students take advantage of the IBD Certificate Program at Georgetown University! We encourage all incoming and current students to look further into this program if you are interested in global business strategy or finance, public policy, or entrepreneurship.