Covid19 as a trigger for new ways of internationalizing teaching Operations Management

Abstract

During the last decades there is an interest in internationalizing Higher Education (HE), and many initiatives are taken in and out of campus. Covid19 pandemic has impacted globally in all sectors, being HE one of them: restriction of exchange options for students and professors, limited presence courses, etc. Thus, Covid19 pandemic has become a trigger to find new ways to continue internationalizing HE. This paper presents the case study of an internationalization initiative on teaching Operations Management in a master program, consisting of a group project to study operations location decisions, involving students from three countries: Spain, China and Indonesia. Learning objectives were established based on lessons learned in Operations as well as in intercultural experiences. Surveys with participants have been conducted to evaluate the learning outcomes. Findings reveal that: (i) students considered the experience as highly positive; (ii) intercultural experience started as a non-evident challenge and ended as an added value activity; (iii) it allowed them to acquire some competences that are appreciated by the labour market; (iv) key success factors were identified; and (v) proposals for improvement were provided.During the last decades there is an interest in internationalizing Higher Education (HE), and many initiatives are taken in and out of campus. Covid19 pandemic has impacted globally in all sectors, being HE one of them: restriction of exchange options for students and professors, limited presence courses, etc. Thus, Covid19 pandemic has become a trigger to find new ways to continue internationalizing HE. This paper presents the case study of an internationalization initiative on teaching Operations Management in a master program, consisting of a group project to study operations location decisions, involving students from three countries: Spain, China and Indonesia. Learning objectives were established based on lessons learned in Operations as well as in intercultural experiences. Surveys with participants have been conducted to evaluate the learning outcomes. Findings reveal that: (i) students considered the experience as highly positive; (ii) intercultural experience started as a non-evident challenge and ended as an added value activity; (iii) it allowed them to acquire some competences that are appreciated by the labour market; (iv) key success factors were identified; and (v) proposals for improvement were provided.