January 26, 2006

Russ Yelton, director of the A-B Tech Small Business Center and Incubator, has helped arrange for MBA student Frank Ling, from Fudan University in Shanghai, China, to come to the region through a visiting scholar scholarship.

The scholarship is valued at $10,000. Ling will be taking three master’s level classes at Western Carolina University during the spring semester, and will live in graduate housing on campus. He plans to complete a thesis on Chinese and American companies doing business together and exporting into foreign markets.

Ling is also an intern with the Yangpu Science and Technology Venture Center in Shanghai, China’s largest incubator. While taking classes, he will split his time with the A-B Tech incubator, participating in various events and will present a workshop on expanding into international markets in February.

“The significance of this visit for our incubator is that this will build on our existing memorandum of understanding between our countries,” Yelton said. “It will also allow business people here in the United States a direct first-hand way to learn about the culture, and nature of business in China.”