The 39 Country Initiative, founded in 2010 by Professor Paul Beamish, HBA ’76, PhD ’84, and led by Ivey’s International Business Institute, supports the world’s poorest countries by providing valuable teaching materials and resources. The initiative provides access to all case studies from Ivey Publishing’s catalogue at no charge to eligible universities. To date more than 2,000 professors in 39 countries have registered for access.
While business cases serve as a powerful building block for management education, many faculty members within the program seek help in understanding how to teach using this resource. Recently Ivey Associate Professor Stephan Vachon, PhD ’03, and Elie Chrysostome, a Professor from the State University of New York, Plattsburgh, each facilitated a French-language case teaching workshop. These were co-sponsored by the Academy of International Business (AIB) and Ivey’s International Business Institute, and free for local faculty.
A new way of teaching
The first workshop, hosted by Chrysostome at the African School of Economics in Cotonou, Benin, had 32 participants from 24 institutions in six West African countries. The second session by Vachon at the Université Caraïbe in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, had 15 participants from five institutions.
The sessions proved to be a major success, providing faculty with new insights and teaching methods.
“It was obvious the faculty have realized the relevance of the case teaching method for the quality of education delivered by their institutions,” said Chrysostome. “They are greatly appreciative of the support from Ivey and are excited to start using cases in their classrooms.”
The 39 Country Initiative provides free access to case studies and local workshops and makes regular shipments of books, journals, and course packs to universities in need. Recently, a 10-ton shipment of supplies was delivered to the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. The shipment was sponsored in part by the AIB and included material from business schools in Canada and the U.S.
Despite recent program success, there is always more that can be done. To explore ways to get involved, visit the 39 Country Initiative website or contact Professor Paul Beamish.
View the photos below:
- Participants at the Benin Workshop at the African School of Economics (Submitted by the African School of Economics);
- Professor Elie Chrysostome at the Benin Workshop (Submitted by the African School of Economics);
- Participants at the Haiti workshop at the Université Caraïbe (Submitted by the Université Caraïbe);
- Associate Professor Stephan Vachon at the Haiti Workshop (Submitted by the Université Caraïbe); and,
- Unpacking the shipment at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (Submitted by the University of Dar es Salaam)
