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MEETING PLACE

Mercedes Benz Turkey premises in Esenyurt, Istanbul.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

July 2:

07:15  Optional: Those staying at Hilton or other AIB hotels: meeting at Istanbul Hilton lobby at 7:30 am and traveling by taxi to the 8:00 am meeting point

08:00  Shuttle Departure from Eminönü – Opposite Yeni Cami (“New Mosque”) to Hosdere

09:00  Shuttle Arrival (Hosdere Factory)

09:30 General Presentation

10:15 Coffee Break

10:30 Factory Tour

12:00 Lunch

13:00 Workshop

14:30 Coffee Break

14:45 Workshop

16:45 Service Departure from Hosdere to Eminönü – Opposite Yeni Cami (“New Mosque”)

20:00 Dinner, ORKA ROYAL HOTEL, terrace restaurant (30 Turkish Lira per person), about 15 min walk from where Mercedes-Benz busses drop us off.

July 3-6

Academy of International Business Conference (http://aib.msu.edu/events/2013/)

All X-Culture students are welcome to attend the AIB conference (additional fee required, link above for details).

Over 2,000 International Business scholars and professionals from about 100 countries present their research and technologies at the conference every year.

The program includes research presentations, panel sessions, professional development workshops, social and networking events, gala dinner, and more.

3. X-CULTURE MERCEDES-BENZ CHALLENGE

Mercedes-Benz announced an additional competition for students who plan to attend the X-Culture meeting in Istanbul. Participation in the competition is optional. That is, everyone is welcome to attend the X-Culture meeting regardless of their decision to participate or not to participate in the Mercedes-Benz challenge.

The Mercedes-Benz Challenge task will be revealed on May 15, 2013.

The task most probably will involve designing and developing a marketing plan for a new specialized truck.

Students interested in participating in the Mercedes-Benz challenge must sign up by May 30. To sign up, please fill out THIS REGISTRATION FORM.

Students will be allowed to form teams on their own, or can opt for being assigned to teams by the X-Culture meeting Program Chair. You will be asked about your preference on theREGISTRATION FORM.

Working in global virtual teams (as always), the students will have until June 15 to complete their proposals.

The reports will be evaluated by a Selection Committee comprised of X-Culture professors and Mercedes-Benz officials.

Top 3 teams will be announced and receive special Mercedes-Benz Awards at the award ceremony on July 2.

All other Mercedes-Benz challenge participants will receive Achievement Certificates at the award ceremony.

4. COST, TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATION AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Students interested in attending the X-Culture meeting must largely rely on their own funding to cover the travel and accommodation expenses. X-Culture may be able to offer a few small travel stipends (up to $500 each, likely to no more than 10 students). However, we will also offer support with obtaining funding from your universities and other organizations. Please see section 4.5 below for details.

The cost of the X-Culture meeting (meeting space, transportation to the meeting venue, lunch, meeting materials, other expenses) will be covered by Mercedes-Benz, so the meeting registration fee will be waived for all X-Culture students.

Attending the Academy of International Business conference on July 3-6 requires additional registration and fee. Please visit the conference webpage to registerhttp://aib.msu.edu/events/2013/. The registration fee will cover access to all conference presentations, social and networking events, all printed and other conference materials, breakfast, lunch, reception dinner on the conference days, as well as the Gala dinner.

Students attending the X-Culture meeting are welcome but not required to participate in the Academy of International Business conference.

4.1 TRAVEL

Students are responsible for making their travel arrangements, to and from Turkey, including buying their air tickets and making other travel arrangements. Mercedes-Benz will provide bus service free of charge from the central meeting location in downtown Istanbul to the X-Culture meeting place at Mercedes-Benz facilities, and back to the central location.

Air travel discounts: Turkish Airlines and the Star Alliance™ are pleased to be appointed as the Official Airline Network for the 2013 Academy of International Business Annual Meeting in Istanbul, Turkey. To obtain the Star Alliance Conventions Plus discounts please follow the below steps to access the Conventions Plus online booking tool:

• Visit www.staralliance.com/conventionsplus/delegates
• Under “Delegates login” enter conventions code TK11S13.
• The online booking tool opens in a separate window

For further details, please see: http://aib.msu.edu/events/2013/AirTravelDiscounts.asp

We recommend arriving in Istanbul on or before July 1 as the X-Culture meeting will start early in the morning on July 2.

If you are attending the Academy of International Business conference, we recommend scheduling your departure for July 7 or later. However, the conference will be largely over by 4 pm on July 6, so a departure at a late hour of July 6 would be fine.

Turkey is a beautiful country and you may want to add a few more days to your trip for sightseeing.

Depending on where you are traveling from, a round-trip air ticket to Turkey may cost from $300 to $1,300 dollars.

Istanbul has a well-developed public transportation system. However, it is a large city and it may take hours to get across it via public transport. We recommend finding lodging close to the conference cites.

Please visit this page for more information on the conference venue and lodging:http://aib.msu.edu/events/2013/Lodging.asp

Also, visit this page for more Istanbul Travel information (about Istanbul, air travel information, public transportation, climate, money, electricity, internet access, shopping, dining, and more):http://aib.msu.edu/events/2013/TravelInformation.asp

4.2 LOGDING

Students are responsible for their lodging arrangements, such as booking a hotel room or using other accommodations.

Discounted rates are available at the official Academy of International Business conference hotels. Please visit http://aib.msu.edu/events/2013/Lodging.asp for details.

These are high-class hotels and some students may prefer cheaper hotels in the area. Please check online hotel booking websites for the best hotel rates.

Also, to save money, consider sharing a hotel room with other students. Please visit this interactive page to find roommates: http://tinyurl.com/bwrwkfm

4.3 HOSTING BY LOCAL STUDNETS

Many local students expressed interest in hosting international students at their homes in Istanbul.

If you live in Istanbul and would like to host an international student, or if you are looking for host in Istanbul, please post your information here: http://tinyurl.com/bwrwkfm

4.4 FOOD

On the day of the X-Culture meeting (July 2), Mercedes-Benz will be providing lunch.

At the end of the day, all meeting participants are invited to a group dinner at a local restaurant. Attendees will be expected to pay for their food.

If you are attending the Academy of International Business conference, your registration fee will cover, among other things, light breakfast, lunch, as well as access to many receptions and social events at night, many of which offer free food.

4.5 TRAVEL STIPENDS AND SUPPORT

The X-Culture may be able to offer a small number of travel stipends (up to a few hundred dollars each, likely no more than 5-10 stipends total). If any money becomes available, the priority will be given to the members of the best X-Culture teams and students from developing countries. The travel stipends will not be large enough to cover all travel expenses of the recipients, so all attendees will have to cover most of their travel expenses on their own, even those who may get the small travel stipends.

However, X-Culture may help you get additional finding from your university and other organizations. Most universities can provide some travel funds to their students to attend international scholarly and professional meetings, such as the X-Culture meeting and Academy of International Business conference. For example, at the last X-Culture meeting in Florida in 2012, most attending students received some support from their universities. Furthermore, many students received funding from their local businesses and not-for-profit organizations and foundations.

If requested, the X-Culture Project Director will write a support letter to the Dean of your school or to the key people at your local business to help students raise funds for their travel.

Also, talk to your X-Culture professor about ways to raise funds for your travel.

4.5 SIGHTSEEING

The Academy of International Business has made arrangements with local tourist agencies to provide a wide range of sightseeing options, including daily tours, overnight tours, pre and post conference tours, and blue voyage sea tours. Please visit this pagehttp://aib.msu.edu/events/2013/Tours.asp for more details.