Reflections on Humber's Rich Learning Culture

By: Ted Glenn, Ph.D., Professor of Public Administration and Program Coordinator at The Business School, Humber College

  

Krems an der Donau, Austria

April 25, 2014: From a teaching perspective, one of the things that is so interesting to observe here at the Krems IMC Master Days is teaching styles. At Humber, I’m used to seeing in my colleagues and using myself a full variety of teaching methodologies—traditional lecture, Q&A, debates, in-class group work and assignments, student presentations, simulations, online supplemented learning, asynchronous and synchronous online learning, etc.

Professionally, I feel fortunate to be immersed in such diversity and feel that it enhances my ability to contribute to learning each and every day. The culture that produces this diversity—which I believe stems from what former President Squee Gordon described as a “hire well and get the hell out of the way” philosophy—encourages and supports both risk-taking and innovation in teaching. That, I am convinced, benefits both teachers and students alike.

What I see at IMC Masters Days is the instructors using mostly traditional teaching methodologies like lecturing and Q&As. But don’t misunderstand the point of my observation here: the presenters at the IMC Masters Days are very, very knowledgeable in their fields and do a very, very good job of delivering material to students using traditional methods. And students are receptive and engaged with the presenters—they are used to traditional delivery styles and respond well to them. My experience watching my colleagues present here, though, leaves me with more respect for the culture of teaching and learning that exists at Humber and how much that culture has contributed to my own development as a trainer and educator. It is a sense of that legacy that I will seek to impart to the participants in my session on leadership this afternoon.

Humber professor Alain Londes at IMC Master Days in Krems.

"Edelweiss": A Night of Cultural Exchange at IMC FH Krems (Austria)

By: Ted Glenn, Ph.D., Professor of Public Administration and Program Coordinator at The Business School, Humber College

April 25, 2014: After yesterday’s proceedings finished, we presenters went out for dinner en masse. Luckily, management had an inkling of what was coming their way and stuck us in a large room in the back of the restaurant. As staid and stuffy and academic as we all may be during the day, those coils seem to shuffle off quickly as we sit back relax and celebrate a day well done. 

On offer was the ubiquitous schnitzel, risotto, and potatoes, topped off with local beverage offerings.

One of the highlights of the evening was the IMC Masters Days “Oscars,” a customized certificate of appreciation which our host Max handed out – after a gentle roasting – to each and every one of us up on the raised dais. Max and Regina are such warm, gracious and efficient hosts. It is amazing just how smoothly such a large event has gone and how welcome each of us has felt.

Another of the “highlights” of the evening was a – shall we say – “unique” rendering of Edelweiss as post-dinner entertainment. Yes, that’s our very own Alain Londes up there with Moses Koh from Singapore’s Nanying Polytechnic and Gabriel Lopez Gutierrez from Mexico’s Escuala Bancaria y Comercial.  Not quite Christopher Plummer/Julie Andrews quality, but you have to admire the gumption of these three, especially in the YouTube/Twitter era. Wouldn’t catch me…

Take a look at the video here:

Krems 2.0

By: Ted Glenn, Ph.D., Professor of Public Administration and Program Coordinator at The Business School, Humber College

Humber Professor Ted Glenn, currently at IMC FH Krems in Austria, shares further thoughts from IMC Master Days.


April 24, 2014: There seems to be a bit of a disconnect (sorry for the pun) between blogging at this event and the use of social media among participating students. Like almost everywhere else in the world, everyone here has a smartphone and is constantly on it snapping selfies, texting, looking stuff up and more. But the apparent low usage of social media here is striking.


I was alerted to it earlier today during a conversation with Wesley Put-van ben Beemt, a colleague from NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. She observed that the level of usage of online portals for things like tourism shopping is five to ten years behind that in North America. People use the Internet to research travel options, but conduct the actual purchase live and in-person. 

I got a sense of the disconnect again during Alain Londes' session. When he asked how many would tweet the ongoing session, the response was none. What's interesting is when he asked how many of them even had Twitter accounts, the response was also none. 

Although these are only two examples of an apparent lack of web activity, it appears that the social media culture is still quite nascent here compared to North America. I would love to hear theories on why!

The Humber View: IMC Master Days in Krems, Austria

By: Ted Glenn, Ph.D., Professor of Public Administration and Program Coordinator at The Business School, Humber College

April 23, 2014: Krems at last! After a long flight to Vienna, and a remarkable day wandering through that city of refined contentment, we arrived in what has to be one of the most charming small cities in all of Austria. At the heart is a medieval walled city that dates to at least the tenth century. It is bounded on the south by the Danube River and to the hilly north vineyards that are just about to come into bloom. And at the western edge lies the IMC Krems campus – an architectural marriage of modernity and history.

Our hosts at IMC FH Krems threw a welcome reception for the impressive array of speakers gathered from IMC partner institutions around the world – France, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, The Netherlands, Spain, Russia, Canada, Mexico, the USA, and of course Alain Londes and Ted Glenn from Humber College in Toronto Canada – here to speak as part of the IMC Masters Days.

 

April 24, 2014:  beautiful start to the day in Krems this morning. I went for a run in the orchards up above Krems and tried very hard not to have a heart attack. The hills are soooo steep!

 

Got back to the hotel and had breakfast with some of the presenters. A very international conversation, I have to say. I got a preview from Moses Koh from Singapore’s Nanyang Polytechnic on his presentation, “What finance textbooks don’t teach us…lessons learned from 50 countries travelled.” Philippe Daudi from Sweden’s Linnaeus University and I discussed some of the ideas he will tackle in his presentation, “On the art of leading others through the art of leading oneself.” And I eavesdropped on a conversation in which Gabriel Lopez Gutierrez from Mexico’s Escuela Bancaria y Comercial talked about some of the themes he will discuss in, “Strategies for intergenerational engagement in Mexico and Latin America.” It will be a very interesting and engaging day.

 

After breakfast, I sat in on Alain Londes’s presentation, “The state of business ethics following the global financial crisis.” Very interesting to sit in on this conversation. Alain started with what he called a distinctly North American perspective on the state of business. That sparked a wide-ranging conversation about what is happening in Austria specifically and Europe in general in terms of ethics and trust. For me, one of the most interesting parts of Alain’s presentation was the “multi-linguality” of it – Alain switching effortlessly between English (used for most of the presentation) and French, German, Russian and Italian as per participants’ backgrounds. I’m of course very envious as I have a very difficult time communicating in just one language effectively. Language, for Alain, seems to be much like playing jazz.
 

Tomorrow, I will deliver a workshop called "Lead from wherever you are: The leader-as-coach approach.” Alain and I will also meet with a couple of students who intend on studying at Humber in the fall. We will show them pictures of Casa Loma and the CN Tower - quite a contrast to this magical medieval city!