NSU Horizons Spring 2017

10 NSU HORIZONS The students’ research will be submitted to an academic journal for publication. Before setting sail, the students prepared for their at-sea course, called the Emerging Entrepreneurship Study Tour of Cuba, by learning about the country’s cultural and eco- nomic topics. During the on-board days at sea, the students presented to the group their pre-trip research on Cuba. Once docked, the group’s members visited the cities of Santiago de Cuba, Cienfuegos, and Havana where they interviewed Cuban entre- preneurs. The students also toured the University of Havana, founded in 1728, and participated in a U.S. Embassy briefing in Havana. “Cuba is a wonderful laboratory for emerging entrepreneurship. The Cuban people starting these nascent businesses have virtually no resources, and yet they thrive and survive,” said Tom Tworoger, D.B.A., professor and chair of the entrepreneurship, real estate, hospitality, and sports management departments at HCBE. “NSU’s research may be the only primary research on these entrepreneurs,” said Tworoger. “Several universities have used secondary research, but NSU is one of the few universities to do firsthand interviews with these entrepreneurs. And that is very important.” In Tworoger’s M.B.A. course at the Fort Lauderdale/Davie Campus, students interview South Florida entrepreneurs about their businesses. The students used those same questions to interview the Cuban business owners. The answers will be compared to those from the U.S. business owners and the findings will be published. “The Cuban people were extremely nice and happy to participate,” Tworoger said. A change in Cuban policy is making these new busi- nesses possible. According to Bloomberg Businesswee k, the Cuban government has expanded private employment to 201 occupations, including barbers, taxi drivers, cell phone technicians, and those who work in guest houses and restaurants. Real estate agents are now legal, a radical con- cept in a nation that didn’t permit home sales for more than a half-century. In the past few years, almost 500,000 Cubans have registered as tax-paying private businesspeople. It is estimated that 25 percent of the Cuban economy is generated by these private enterprises. “Our students received a firsthand look at how this works. What an inspiration for our students who want to start their own business with all the resources in the world here in the U.S.,” said Tworoger. “It was a great experience for the students to be exposed to emerging businesses,” said Fred Forgey, Ph.D., director of the Real Estate Develop- ment Program and associate professor at NSU. Tworoger and Forgey began plans for the trip five months before they set sail. Other universities have participated in such trips since travel to Cuba has been allowed, but the professors think NSU is the first university from the United States to do so by cruise line. A division of Carnival Cruise Line, Fathom Travel, was the first cruise ship company to be granted U.S. approval for round- trip travel between the United States and multiple destinations in Cuba. “Carnival’s new experiential brand, Fathom, is for people who want to explore and not just vacation. We thought it was a perfect fit for us,” said Forgey. “We decided the best way to do our research in different parts of Cuba was by cruise ship, so we could visit different cities,” said Tworoger. Above, top photo, Maria Belottini (left), Tom Tworoger, and Lauren Johnson. Bottom photo, NSU professors Fred Forgey (left), Tom Tworoger, and David Hinds (right). continued from page 9