23 November 2021 #CaseMethod
Governance changes at The Case Centre
The Case Centre is pleased to welcome three new members to its UK Executive Committee and US Board of Directors.
The executive committee and the board of directors, both made up of academic representatives, meet several times a year to establish The Case Centre’s policy and oversee operations.
Meet the new committee members
Martina Pasquini
IE Business School
Maria Ballesteros-Sola
California State University Channel Islands’ (CSUCI)
David Wesley
Northeastern University
Martina, an Assistant Professor of Strategy at IE Business School, currently teaches Strategic Management and Research Methods at undergraduate level, and she has also taught Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Global Entrepreneurship, and Techniques for Innovation Management at Master’s level in leading European universities.
Martina said: “What I like most about teaching with the case method is seeing the same case with different students, different people and in different settings never being the same. There is always a new angle or a new learning discovered. Each case can be developed at different layers depending on who the programme is taught to.”
On the other side of the Atlantic, Maria is an Assistant Professor of Management at CSUCI’s Martin V. Smith School of Business & Economics, and is an active member in the case research community, serving on various editorial boards and winning numerous case writing awards.
Maria added:“Teaching with the case method allows me to bridge the theory-practice gap, especially for undergraduates trying to grasp abstract concepts, frameworks and theories. A good, solid case helps them to understand, analyse and apply those abstract concepts.
“Cases facilitate a meaningful transition from an ‘instruction paradigm’ to a ‘learning paradigm’ characteristic of experiential learning. Through the case, inquisitive students can travel in their learning from abstract to concrete and back to abstract.
“I also use scaffolding purposely in my case selection, so the discussed cases become ‘anchors’ through the semester, and we can keep referring to those earlier learned concepts. Without any question, concepts discussed through stories are better recalled than mere textbook readings.”
The second new face on the board is David, a Research Program Manager at Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business, who teaches graduate-level courses in global strategy and culture. David’s award-winning cases have appeared in 30 management textbooks in multiple editions.
David commented: “We easily forget concepts that we learned years ago, but we don’t easily forget stories. Case method teaching brings real world experience into the classroom and makes theoretical concepts relevant to students. Students contact me years later to say that what they learned in class is having a positive impact on their work.
“I write the vast majority of the cases that I use in my classes, providing me with intimate knowledge of the companies and any issues they need to solve. Students sense this, which really helps improve the classroom experience.
“Finally, case writing and teaching helps me to be a better researcher, both in developing new theoretical concepts and providing anecdotal evidence to support existing theories. By spending more time working in the field, I am able to apply this practical knowledge to other research and publications.”
Find out more about our executive committee and board of directors here.The Case Centre is the independent home of the case method. We are dedicated to advancing the case method worldwide, sharing knowledge, wisdom and experience to inspire and transform business education across the globe. We are a not-for-profit organisation and registered charity.
We:
- distribute the world’s largest collection of management case studies, articles and books on behalf of all the major business schools and internationally respected authors worldwide
- provide training in case method teaching, learning and writing led by globally renowned experts
- run international case competitions and awards
- offer scholarships to unpublished case writers and new case teachers
- publish books and articles by eminent case method specialists
- offer authors an efficient and effective worldwide case publishing and distribution service
- distribute the monthly Connect newsletter to more than 45,200 subscribers worldwide
- curate the annual #WorldCaseTeachingDay.
We are a registered charity and currently have over 500 academic and corporate members from all over the world. Our members are a vital part of The Case Centre community and at the heart of everything we do.