Students in John Lipinski’s Introduction to
Entrepreneurship class regularly link up with classmates over 4,000 miles
away. Along with Kia Golesorkhi from
the University of Pecs in Pecs, Hungary, the two professors link their classes
to deliver joint lectures, share guest speakers, and encourage student
interaction.
To help solidify the link, last year Lipinski journeyed to Pecs on a faculty exchange to deliver a live lecture to
the Hungarian students, and this year Golesorkhi returned the favor and
visited with our students live in Indiana. In this day and age of ever-growing globalization, both professors agree
that this adds a unique dimension to the course and exposes students to an
international perspective that a news video, article, or simple lecture about
what is happening abroad cannot convey.
Ryan Greene, a student in Lipinski’s class,
commented on Golesorkhi’s visit: “Dr. Golesorkhi is a great, well-spoken
individual that helped us learn more about his country and culture. He also
brought great opportunities for our students here in the states with his Gyro
Management Program happening this summer in Pecs. Aside from the opportunities
he brought, he also gave great insight on the type of economy he has in his
culture compared to our economy in the States.”
Lipinski and Golesorkhi have been using
teleconference technology to link their courses for the past three years. It was an evolution of Lipinski’s idea
that, given modern telecommunications, there has to be a way to link students
from around the world, in real time. International students and students in exchange programs add a lot to
the educational experience of students when they take the time to get to know
the students visiting their country. Lipinski also believes that studying abroad can be a transformative experience
for students. However, even when
exchange students are present, often students miss the opportunity to form
relationships. Nationally, only about 1 percent
of U.S. college students have the opportunity to study abroad. Using teleconference technology, the goal of
the experiment was to create a Virtual Study Abroad program—even if it was
only for one course.
Lipinski has seen an impact, indicating that
“students quickly see that their Hungarian counterparts are learning the same
core business concepts that are taught in the U.S. They are every bit as capable as a U.S.-educated student and view the world economy as a global opportunity. It really solidifies the concept to our
students that they have global competition. The technology also exposes students to the idea that business goes on
real time around the globe.”
Students in
Indiana are in a late morning class and the Hungarians are in an evening
class. Lipinski commented that
during his corporate days, it was not uncommon to have virtual meetings across
four continents simultaneously—with some participants joining around midnight
their time. “It is the way that business
is done in the 21st century.”
Hillary Creely, IUP’s assistant dean for
Research, was invited to deliver a guest lecture to the classes. Her professional background and
responsibilities at the university include intellectual property, patent law,
and technology transfer. Golesorkhi
commented that her real-world experience and knowledge of technology transfer
(a major program direction at the University of Pecs) were not only valuable to
the students, but valuable for him. Including experts such as this add a unique dimension to both classes. Creely commented that it was a wonderful experience to be able to
speak with students in the U.S. and Hungary simultaneously about intellectual
property law, adding that, “the students were so insightful, I’m excited to see
how they use IUP to further their entrepreneurial plans.”
In another example, John
O’Connor, IUP class of ’91 and founding team member of the Budapest Business
Journal (the premier business magazine in Hungary), joined the class later in the semester for his
second visit and talked about how his experience at IUP led him to pursue this
global opportunity, and how his formative experiences in Hungary led to his
continued professional success, his entrepreneurial spirit, and his success in
running his own business today.
The classes are not without their
challenges. On occasion, the
videoconference equipment does not cooperate and the classes are not as seamless
as the professors would like. There are
other challenges like linking academic calendars (Hungary does not start their
spring semester until February, and both schools observe different weeks for
spring break), and the U.S. and Europe throw a wrench into the system as daylight
savings time shifts the meeting time by one hour for three weeks. However, the professors have been able to
link up and share nine to 10 lectures each year. Both professors agree that this is something that they want to refine and
continue to offer for years to come.
Eberly College of Business and Information Technology