NHH involved in innovative teaching projects
What do family businesses and cultural understanding have in common? Both are at the core of two new teaching projects with NHH on board.
`Family businesses are the backbone of many economies. That’s why I’m excited to offer this course to our students,´ says postdoctoral researcher at NHH Theresa Bührle, who is helping develop a new course in family business management that will be included in NHH’s master’s portfolio next spring.
International collaboration
Bührle is developing the course in collaboration with the University of Mannheim and the University of National and World Economy (UNWE) in Bulgaria, with funding from ENGAGE.EU’s incubator initiative. The course will be called “Managing the Family Business – Strategy, Governance and Change.”
`Developing courses together across institutions provides a more nuanced international perspective,´ she says.
Through guest lectures from family businesses in the three countries, students gain insight into how history and culture shape the way businesses are developed and managed.
NHH professor calls it a welcome opportunity
ENGAGE.EU’s academic incubator initiative supports faculty in developing new teaching offerings from the ground up within the alliance.
`NHH has many students who will take over family businesses or work in family-owned companies. I have long wanted to offer a course that addresses challenges specific to these businesses, but we haven’t had the capacity to develop a dedicated course at the department,´ says professor and head of the Department of Business and Management Science at NHH, Jarle Møen.
`When we received a request to contribute to an ENGAGE course aimed at this student group, it was therefore a welcome opportunity to realize the idea,´ he adds.
A digital learning resource
Associate Professors Annelise Ly and Kristin Rygg are also part of a team that has received funding. The project does not involve a new course, but a modular online course in intercultural competence.
Ly describes the initiative as a learning resource bank.
`The modules, which will consist of short videos and quizzes, can be used in teaching, for self-study, employee development, or to prepare students for exchange programs,´ Ly explains.
She is responsible for developing content for several modules, covering cross-cultural leadership, intercultural teamwork, and virtual collaboration across cultures and languages.
`The videos can help both instructors and students understand the topics in advance and prepare their own learning journey,´ says Ly about the project, which is planned for launch in 2027.