Dutch professor gives lecture on international business and the repercussions of wars.

Last Tuesday (November 7th), students from the Administration, Law, and Economics courses had the opportunity to attend the lecture “Current wars: reflection on the uncertainties”, conducted by Visiting professor Edward Overes, professor at the Faculty of International Business at Zuyd University of Applied Sciences, in Netherlands.

The event, led by ESEG International (The Faculty's internationalization area) allowed Professor Ed (as he likes to be called) to address the importance of international business for global economic evolution, as well as the implications that ongoing wars have for business predictability. 

According to his analysis, the international trade made it possible to create a global supply chain very effective and efficient, guaranteeing access to a vast variety of products in all countries. However, at the same time, companies had to learn to deal with various risks involved This process includes economic, cultural, and political risks that directly affect businesses. 

A practical example of this is the current ongoing wars, such as Russia vs. Ukraine e Israel vs. Hamas. "Turbulent markets often make hasty and emotionally driven decisions, which can lead to widespread chaos and increased costs, such as energy, inflation, supplies, etc.," notes the international professor.

Professor Ed explained that mature markets like the European they were fully accustomed to stability, due to a long period of peace experienced in recent decades. However, the triggering of conflicts, right after a pandemic period, brought a lot uncertainty and a degree of instability which created an extremely difficult scenario for the leaders of that continent to manage.

With this, the emerging countries, who know how to deal very well with vulnerabilities, they acquired a good competitive advantage. "The people of South America, for example, always have a solution available, an alternative for things that might go wrong. They always plan scenarios with plans A, B, or C. However, we in Europe only have plan A and we don't know what to do immediately when the scenario is unstable and the plan changes," emphasized Professor Ed.

He referred to this behavior as resilience, "Resilience is the ability to withstand difficulties but not be defeated. It's something we Europeans still need to learn, but you Brazilians already possess it and are prepared for adversity," the Dutch professor added.

According to Professor Vanessa Martins, manager of ESEG International and Student Support, the presence of international professors In the university environment, this is of fundamental importance. "Actions like this give everyone involved the opportunity to come into contact with different perspectives and worldviews, further enriching the knowledge and the cultural repertoire "of the students," he emphasized.

Professor Ed Overes also met with the ESEG management team to discuss academic cooperation and student exchange projects throughout 2024.