GLE+ (Global Learning Experience plus) and International Experience

The full case study can be accessed here.

Partnership Category:

External partnerships to enhance education (curriculum) – e.g. partners for the learning journey

Name of Partner:

De Paul University, Chicago, USA

Name of Partnership:

GLE+ (Global Learning Experience plus) and International Experience

Primary purpose:

The primary purpose of this partnership is twofold: to enhance SDG integration into the MSc International Business and the MSc Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship curricula, and to create an experiential learning opportunity for students to practice Responsible Management by working with Nonprofit organizations in the USA.

Secondary purpose:

The secondary purpose of this partnership is to allow course teams to experience a curricular hybrid COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) initiative. COIL does not normally encompass a face-to-face component. With this partnership, GLE+ International Experience, staff coordinate three weeks of synchronous online COIL with their American counterparts, and one week of face-to-face work where NBS staff and students travel to Chicago to complete the work.

Contact for this partnership:

Nottingham Business School (NBS) contact:

Dr. Ofelia A. Palermo, ofelia.palermo@ntu.ac.uk

NBS module team contact:

Paul Wreaves, paul.wreaves@ntu.ac.uk

De Paul University contacts:

Gian Mario Besana and Rosi Leon

De Paul University module team contact:

Lisa Dietlin

Practical involvement:

This type of partnership requires a systematic and intense effort from both institutions involved. The partnership between NBS and De Paul started in 2021. The two course teams have been working intensely on mapping the learning outcomes, number of hours, types of synchronous online tasks, and nonprofit organizations to involve in this initiative. The activity centres around student teams taking the lead. The latter are mixed, such as they are composed by NBS and De Paul students. They get assigned a task to resolve by the end of four weeks (duration of the module) – three online (synchronously), and one in person. Tasks to resolve relate to the real business experience of two nonprofit organizations, the Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD) and the Field Museum. Student teams visit both organizations during the face-to-face week in Chicago. For the GCFD, they also spend half day helping pack food. This hands-on activity allows them to experience the core business of the organization and develop a clearer idea of what the challenges are and how they can be addressed. By the end of the face-to-face week, student teams present their recommendations to the two companies, each time in relation to the type of issue they were assigned to consider.

Benefits of this partnership to the institution as a PRME Champion:

The benefits of this partnership for NBS relate to the possibility of incorporating in the curriculum an initiative that focuses on students experiencing elements of SDG8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and Responsible Leadership/Management. The activity is hands-on rather than just theoretical. Working with Nonprofit organizations can stimulate reflection on career aspirations driven by a collective responsibility ethos. Additionally, the possibility of running this within the framework of a COIL+ face-to-face component, adds a benefit from a cross-cultural perspective. The soft skill of cross-cultural adaptation is enhanced by this sprint journey overseas where the interpretation and construction of what SDGs and Responsible Leadership/Management mean might be different from the way we understand them and implement them in the UK.

Benefits of this partnership to the partner institution(s):

The benefits for De Paul University mirror the ones which are explained in the section above, namely the incorporation of a practice-based experience of SDG8, SDG12 and, more generally, Responsible Leadership/Management. Additionally, the aspect of cross-cultural adaptation agility that is articulated above applies to the staff and students at De Paul University just as it does for NBS staff and students.

Spillover effects/cross pollination/impact of this partnership:

This partnership produces effects on three other areas of Nottingham Trent University (NTU): Trent Institute for Learning and Teaching (TILT) Online, for the COIL component of the initiative; NTU Global, for the expansion of the collaboration at an institutional level (NTU/DePaul University); and (Centre for Academic Development and Quality (CADQ), for the synergy between institutions operating under different Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) standards. The partnership raises an interest in strengthening the relationship between NBS and De Paul University through joint research, staff exchanges, and international weeks – activities not directly related to the GLE+ International Experience.

Lessons learned from the partnership:

This partnership and the initiative springing from it enrich our understanding of: experiential responsible management education; continuous incremental innovation of pedagogical approaches; experiential learning for students and experiential development for staff; and agility in cross-cultural adaptation.

Duration of partnership:

This partnership was established in 2021 and it is ongoing.

Communications about this partnership:

Communications about this partnership have been advertised on LinkedIn, and the NBS periodic newsletter.