By Fran Daniel
JOURNAL REPORTER

KERNERSVILLE

An introduction-to-business course at Forsyth Technical Community College takes economic-development assistance to a new level.

Classes in the 10-week course, which ends Tuesday, are being taught at the college’s Swisher Center in Kernersville and in Ulyanovsk, Russia, by way of live audio and video using the computer. A wide screen is used at the Swisher Center for better viewing.

Local and Russian students learn more than just basic business terms and concepts.

«What has resulted is the opportunity for job creation here in the Piedmont Triad in terms of assisting the Russians in various projects,» said Suzanne Stafford, the professor of the class and the international-programs officer for Forsyth Tech.

For example, a group of Russians wants to build a golf course in Ulya-novsk, but have no idea how to go about it.M

Stafford said that Herb Burns, a student in the class who is an architect and the chairman of the architect-construction technologies department at Forsyth Tech, has friends who design golf courses. The Russians are interested in having Burns’ friends visit their city.

«That’s income-generation for here,» Stafford said.

Mike Hazen, a professor of communications at Wake Forest University, who has been observing the class regularly, said that he has not seen much of the technology that Stafford is using in her class for «live» intercultural communication.

«This is such a unique and essential kind of interaction,» Hazen said. «There are so many parts of Russia that we call ’the regions’ that don’t have contact with the West.»

He described the technology as a cost-effective way for people to communicate, considering the fact that it would be expensive to fly just two business people to Russia for one trip and that the local business class has students and guests with an array of business backgrounds and experience.

«If this technique works, it can work all over the world,» he said.

Stafford often invites people from the business community to speak to the students.

Yesterday, the Russian students were able to ask questions of Richard Poole, a retired chairman of ClubCorp/CCA, which owns nearly 200 golf courses, country clubs, private businesses clubs and golf resorts, including Pinehurst.

Poole, who linked up with the class by way of the telephone, suggested that the Russians find out what the market might be for a golf course in their community before they design one.

When asked how to create passion for the game of golf, he suggested developing a driving range.

Stafford said that the link-up with the Russians didn’t start out as an economic-development tool.

«We started out with trying to link up these students so that our students could be culturally enriched by having international students ask them questions, and their students were very anxious to learn as much as they can about U.S. and Western business economics,» she said. «So the interesting thing is that it’s been a win-win for everyone, and then it has this wonderful side benefit of generating these business opportunities.»

Dmitry Ablayev, a co-owner of a design company in Ulyanovsk and the Russian class’s coordinator, said that people in Ulyanovsk also want fast-food, consulting and industrial companies to open in their city.

«I know in America it’s becoming more service-oriented, but in Russia with the lower labor costs, it is still a good enterprise for any agricultural and industrial business,» he said.

Stafford said that people in Ulyanovsk, a city of 750,000 on the Volga River, 250 miles due east of Moscow, are extremely interested in foreign franchises such as McDonald’s.

There’s just one foreign franchise open there now: a Baskin-Robbins with three flavors on offer.

The Kernersville Chamber of Commerce is applying to provide link-ups with the Russians every two weeks, beginning in September, Stafford said.

Pending approval, the chamber would bring in a group of retired business executives and other professionals to talk to the Russians about such topics as accounting and marketing.