Global Case Study Challenge 2021: Bolstering the Acquisition of New Virtual Teamwork Skills

The UAB School for Tourism & Hotel Management (EUTDH) has once again participated in the Global Case Study Challenge (GCSC), an eight-week online project in which students from around the world are organised into virtual global teams to work on case studies based on current challenges facing international companies. 

This year, for GCSC 2021, students worked on a case study concerning the impact of mergers and acquisitions on multinational companies in widely differing cultural contexts. Specific areas of work included human-resource management, corporate social responsibility strategy (CSR) and corporate culture. 

Throughout the project, participants acquired knowledge of the distinct topics in the case studies, as well as experiencing at first-hand how to work with people from other cultures, in different time zones and in divergent disciplines, all within a virtual context. In short, the aim of this educational experience is for learners to attain digital and intercultural competences. 

For this year’s event, 47 students from the EUTDH were among more than 450 participants from 16 different countries. Paula Herranz, a third-year student on the bachelor’s degree in Tourism, volunteered for the project to meet new people from different cultures. This semester, she has worked with students from Austria, Slovenia, the Netherlands and Japan. “I think that a degree like Tourism needs to offer this type of project as part of its programme, and this experience has been a very good opportunity”, she explains. 

The Global Case Study Challenge incorporates a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) approach, in which lecturers and students from around the world come together and work online on a shared project. 

Sustainability, the new global competence 

According to Tatiana Andrea Montenegro, who is also studying for a bachelor’s degree in Tourism, participating in this international project has allowed her to “improve adaptability, flexibility and time management”, in addition to putting into practice skills such as “creativity and innovation” in problem solving. In her view, GCSC 2021 was also an opportunity to learn what actions are being taken on sustainability, which she describes as “an important pillar for education on a global scale”. 

One of the new aspects to this e-learning initiative was, in fact, the incorporation of a new global competence: sustainability thinking. Anna Zinenko, an EUTDH lecturer and one of the driving forces behind GCSC—together with Barbara Covarrubias, Svetlana Buko and Eithne Knappitsch—explains that it is crucial to train professionals who are “aware of the social, environmental and economic challenges” in distinct national realities, and who bear in mind Sustainable Development Goals in the context of organisations. 

The pandemic, a new scenario for remote working and teaching 

For Barbara Covarrubias, the organiser of the project from its outset, with the pandemic “all educators leapt into the virtual space, and we know that very few had acquired skills previously in online training, instructional content design or virtual dynamisation”. This has been reflected in the interest and motivation shown by some students for virtual teaching sessions. Covarrubias says that interest in remote working and teaching has grown considerably: “2020 taught us the importance of upgrading IT infrastructure, but also that we need to improve our skills to work effectively, productively and in a healthy way in a global virtual team. 

Svetlana Buko, also a GCSC member, finds it interesting that “industry-specific trends [IT equipment and services] have been transformed into general business operations”. As she explains, “leadership vision is often at the core of the organisation’s digital transformation” and “practising collaborative online work proves to be the best way for developing skills and improving participants’ attitudes”. 

From GCSC 2021, the project has aligned itself with partner companies in the education and technology sectors that offer tools and resources to foster and improve interconnectivity, both in university and professional environments. During their participation, educators and students were able to use resources such as AhaSlides, Miro or Genially and, in parallel with this, GCSC also set up its own Moodle. 

Undergraduate students, in charge of the #GCSC Global Virtual Conference 

Each team presented the case-study results at a virtual conference, held on 26 November 2021. This was attended by students, teachers and representatives of the companies participating in the project, connecting at different times and in different geographical locations. 

In addition to the presentation of results, the event also featured two presentations on interpersonal interaction and remote working. Caitríona McLaughlin, Artistic Director of Ireland’s national theatre, Abbey Theatre, spoke about experiences from the pandemic with online theatre making. Roberto Sanchez, Global Head of Culture, Talent and Diversity at NTT DATA Europe & LATAM, spoke about the challenges of his company’s recent rebranding process. 

The organisation of this virtual conference was one of the internships for the 20 students in the fourth year of the elective subject Organisation of Congresses and Events, taught by Olga Bravo. The students were divided into various committees—coordination, promotion, design & marketing communication, and technological assistance— and were able to participate in the various phases of planning, carrying out tasks typical of an events-organisation company. 

Cristina Cardenas participated in GCSC 2020 as a student and, for the 2021 event, was able to experience things from “behind the scenes”. As a member of the technology committee, she worked on tasks relating to digital platforms and ensured the technical operation throughout the conference. She values the opportunity of organising a real event, which for her is a way “to gain experience for those who are planning to focus on the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions sector (MICE) in the future”. 

During the Global Virtual Conference, using the Miro platform; produced by #virtualspacehero. Image: GCSC