WHEELING, WV, March 24, 2009 - The Office of Global Outreach is opening a Global Business Incubator (GBI).

Initially it will benefit Wheeling Jesuit students who are interested in developing and commercializing intellectual property to sell worldwide, according to university administrator Ryan Wall. Wall is the director of the Office of Global Outreach and works closely with the international students office.

“The next step is to broaden it to the community. That will happen in the next six months,” said Wall. “There is talent within the university and this incubator set-up will give some of our skilled students a place to develop and create.” (From left: David Chavarri, Guillermo Nunez, Ruben Chavarri, Willhelm Castellano, Joseba Urkijo, Alex Rayon, Eder Otegui, Urko Fernandez and Ryan Wall gather in the business incubator office.)

“Our business students will be actively engaged as members of project teams composed of people from around the world. This gives them an opportunity to work in a global environment and gain hands-on experience in developing new technologies,” said Dr. John Mansuy, dean of Professional and Graduate Studies at Wheeling Jesuit.

As well as providing fully equipped office facilities and mentoring on the business and marketing plans, the incubator will be linked to sister incubators at Deusto University in Spain, and Catholic University of Cordoba, Argentina.

These two international Jesuit schools will join WJU in creating a truly global business environment with links to Spanish and South American opportunities. The GBI will participate in such activities as online discussion forums and weekly video conferencing to allow developers and entrepreneurs at each location to share ideas and collaborate on projects.

“We want to support the flow of intellectual property, and offer greater access and opportunity to our talented people to capitalize on foreign market opportunities,” said Wall.

Wall continued, “We have two main goals: Provide resources and support services that enable people to move ideas and concepts to commercial products and businesses, and promote and support entrepreneurs within our community with an eye on international relationships and global markets.”

The GBI, located in Ignatius Hall on WJU's campus, currently has two tenants that are developing a new business at the facility. Alex Rayon and Guillermo Nunez, both graduates of Deusto University in software and industrial engineering, are taking English courses at Wheeling Jesuit's English Language Institute. They plan on starting a new business in Wheeling that involves new technologies that remotely monitor and control resources within homes or industrial facilities.

“The GBI is helping us get off the ground. They are very knowledgeable and supportive and have been a huge help in our planning and are enabling us to open a new business in the American market,” said Rayon.

Along with the GBI, the Office of Global Outreach hosts and partners with the U.S. Department of Commerce Export Assistance Center, Wheeling office. The U.S. Export Assistance Center of West Virginia is part of a global network of offices in over 100 major U.S. cities and 165 locations overseas. With an international network comprised of trade specialists and commercial officers, the Wheeling Export Assistance Center is in a unique position to serve the needs of U.S. exporters and help them succeed internationally.

Business incubators accelerate the successful development of start-up and fledgling companies by providing entrepreneurs with an array of targeted resources and services, according to the National Business Incubator Association. Services are usually developed or orchestrated by incubator management and offered both in the business incubator and through its network of contacts. A business incubator's main goal is to produce successful firms that will leave the program financially viable and freestanding.

For complete information on the new business incubator, please call Wall at 304-243-2633.