Nuno Fernandes won the Outstanding Case Teacher Competition at The Case Centre Awards and Competitions 2022. #CaseAwards2022
View photos and video from the awards presentation on 17 June 2022.
Nuno is Full Professor of Finance at IESE Business School (IESE). He is also the Chairman of the Board of Auditors of the Portuguese Central Bank (Banco de Portugal), Non-Executive (Member of Audit Committee) at the European Investment Bank, and a Research Associate of the European Corporate Governance Institute.
Prior to joining IESE, Nuno was the Dean of Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics. In addition, he was, for a decade, Professor of Finance at the Institute for Management Development (IMD).
A specialist in mergers and acquisitions, valuation, international financial markets, and emerging market risks, Nuno has received numerous teaching and research awards. He has been published in leading international academic journals, including the Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Financial Intermediation, Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Journal of Portfolio Management, and the Harvard Business Review. He also publishes regularly in international media, and is the author of several books, including his bestseller Finance for Executives.
A passionate case writer and teacher, Nuno is an advocate of mixing traditional cases with other pedagogical tools, including multimedia elements, role-plays, experiments, or simulations.
Thrilling news
Nuno commented: “I was thrilled, and couldn’t believe it when I received the news! Knowing that my students had nominated me, and that a superb panel of judges selected me, is extremely honouring, and humbling.
“I am fortunate to have spent most of my professional career in institutions with great teachers, from whom I learn every day, and that I am extremely thankful for. I am also thankful to all my co-authors, current and past colleagues and mentors, and above all, my students, from whom I learn every day.”
The power of case teaching
Nuno said: “For me, there are three important aspects of teaching with cases. First, they raise action and emotional levels. I believe that, in order for learning to stick, we need to go way beyond content. By placing participants in decision mode, it becomes real, and allows us to move from pure 'content delivery' to knowledge and insights.
“Second, I love teaching my own cases. When you have studied or worked with the company, and then teach a case, it is extremely stimulating. You can often enrich the class with your real-world experience, allowing for a richer discussion of important life topics or dilemmas.
“Finally, cases allow for integration, and flexibility. Finance does not have to be complex, or boring, and it is actually very suitable for case teaching. In addition, this allows students to integrate across different disciplines, while developing critical thinking skills. Recruiters around the world seek people with technical skills, but also with communication skills, critical thinking, and the ability to work in teams. I try to incorporate these different elements in my cases and courses.”
Case teaching style
Nuno continued: “I think it is important to be authentic and I use my own personal style of using cases in class.
“In general, I try to challenge my students, to lead them to go further. However, if on the one hand I am demanding, I also keep a close proximity with my students. I enjoy developing a relationship and I create different opportunities outside class, to get to know them better, understanding their motivations and objectives, not just related with my course.
“For instance, even during the pandemic, I had full afternoons with my Zoom open, so they could drop in, like if I were in the office. No emails needed. They could discuss any kind of topic: course related matters, careers, their entrepreneurship ideas, family business.”
Longevity of case method learning
Nuno explained: “My case discussions rely heavily on experiential learning.
“One of the most appreciated experiences is around a mergers and acquisitions integrative exercise/simulation that I have developed, through a case study. Besides discussing M&As, company valuation, financing structures, and other key finance topics, this case discussion and structure allows students to integrate their learning across different disciplines, as well as a reflection of how they work under stress, within a team, as well as competing with others.
“After many years, I repeatedly hear students saying they remember that day, and the learnings that stuck.”
Mixing the old with the new
Nuno commented: “I tend to mix traditional cases with current news and events.
“For example, this year, while discussing portfolio management, instead of starting the class with the case, I turned to GameStop. After showing students a couple of news stories/clips (so that everyone was aware of the key facts related to retail investors and social media), I adapted some of the case preparation questions to GameStop.
“I noticed that this mix, with a live case, made them even more interested in discussing, after 15 minutes, the original case planned for that session."
Hear from Nuno's students and colleagues.
“Why nominate Nuno Fernandes? Because he makes what is difficult for newcomers, very easy and reachable. He has the ability to maintain the eustress of the class during the session. He combines the theory, the case, and the reality, hence conclusions are clear insights even for the non-advanced students.
“Nuno connects the companies’ productive activities with the financial area, this gives you, as a student, a very complete sight of the business, and allows you to learn a lot. I like the way he teaches because he is pragmatic and assertive.
“What makes him outstanding is, among other things, that during the sessions he is funny and smart, so he has the two most powerful tools of teaching: knowledge and empathy.”
“I personally admire Nuno’s ability to actively engage students throughout the entire course and beyond.
“While it is difficult to figure out his ‘secret sauce’, I am sure it has to do with his innovative approach to the case teaching method. He not only relies on thought-provoking questions to have an enlightening discussion, but he also blends them with different pedagogical techniques (such as simulation, role-playing, and exercises). In this way, he is able to produce a whole integrative experience around a case, breaking the boundaries one could expect from a traditional case discussion.
“This unique approach to the case method has a long-lasting impact on our students, who often come to my office to the share their high level of satisfaction with Nuno’s course.”
“During his time at IMD, our case registration statistics show that he developed 77 cases, a number that puts him easily among the top case writers here. Some of his cases like ones on Telefonica’s bid for a mobile phone company in Brazil, and a simulation on InBev’s acquisition of Anheuser-Busch, soon became famous on campus for generating high engagement and enthusiasm among our MBA students. The Telefonica case later featured in the Financial Times.
“Furthermore, Nuno soon mastered classroom techniques for dynamic discussions. He was tough and yet the MBAs liked his methods such as asking questions designed to deliberately promote disagreement among students as a technique for raising different points of views – thereby demonstrating that Finance is as much a field of good judgements as it is of sophisticated techniques.”
The competition was judged by Dominic Houlder, London Business School; Maria Ballesteros-Sola, California State University Channel Islands; Mats Urde, Lund University School of Economics and Management; and Richard McCracken, The Case Centre.
“The judges were deeply impressed by the shortlist of outstanding candidates. Each is highly valued and respected by students and colleagues and continues to make valuable contributions to case teaching.
“Our winner, Nuno Fernandes, has all the attributes one looks for in an outstanding case teacher. He is an adaptable and reflective instructor who is deeply committed to his students and fully sensitive to different learning styles within a class.
“His teaching accommodates different student levels and abilities, and he is adept in incorporating technology into his case teaching. His success is a welcome opportunity to place case teaching in Finance in the limelight.
“The judging panel are delighted to recognise Nuno for the outstanding quality and impact of his case teaching.”
Richard McCracken
Director of The Case Centre and chair of the judging panel
The teacher
Nuno is Full Professor of Finance at IESE Business School (IESE). He is also the Chairman of the Board of Auditors of the Portuguese Central Bank (Banco de Portugal), Non-Executive (Member of Audit Committee) at the European Investment Bank, and a Research Associate of the European Corporate Governance Institute.
Prior to joining IESE, Nuno was the Dean of Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics. In addition, he was, for a decade, Professor of Finance at the Institute for Management Development (IMD).
A specialist in mergers and acquisitions, valuation, international financial markets, and emerging market risks, Nuno has received numerous teaching and research awards. He has been published in leading international academic journals, including the Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Financial Intermediation, Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Journal of Portfolio Management, and the Harvard Business Review. He also publishes regularly in international media, and is the author of several books, including his bestseller Finance for Executives.
A passionate case writer and teacher, Nuno is an advocate of mixing traditional cases with other pedagogical tools, including multimedia elements, role-plays, experiments, or simulations.
Thrilling news
Nuno commented: “I was thrilled, and couldn’t believe it when I received the news! Knowing that my students had nominated me, and that a superb panel of judges selected me, is extremely honouring, and humbling.
“I am fortunate to have spent most of my professional career in institutions with great teachers, from whom I learn every day, and that I am extremely thankful for. I am also thankful to all my co-authors, current and past colleagues and mentors, and above all, my students, from whom I learn every day.”
The power of case teaching
Nuno said: “For me, there are three important aspects of teaching with cases. First, they raise action and emotional levels. I believe that, in order for learning to stick, we need to go way beyond content. By placing participants in decision mode, it becomes real, and allows us to move from pure 'content delivery' to knowledge and insights.
“Second, I love teaching my own cases. When you have studied or worked with the company, and then teach a case, it is extremely stimulating. You can often enrich the class with your real-world experience, allowing for a richer discussion of important life topics or dilemmas.
“Finally, cases allow for integration, and flexibility. Finance does not have to be complex, or boring, and it is actually very suitable for case teaching. In addition, this allows students to integrate across different disciplines, while developing critical thinking skills. Recruiters around the world seek people with technical skills, but also with communication skills, critical thinking, and the ability to work in teams. I try to incorporate these different elements in my cases and courses.”
Case teaching style
Nuno continued: “I think it is important to be authentic and I use my own personal style of using cases in class.
“In general, I try to challenge my students, to lead them to go further. However, if on the one hand I am demanding, I also keep a close proximity with my students. I enjoy developing a relationship and I create different opportunities outside class, to get to know them better, understanding their motivations and objectives, not just related with my course.
“For instance, even during the pandemic, I had full afternoons with my Zoom open, so they could drop in, like if I were in the office. No emails needed. They could discuss any kind of topic: course related matters, careers, their entrepreneurship ideas, family business.”
Longevity of case method learning
Nuno explained: “My case discussions rely heavily on experiential learning.
“One of the most appreciated experiences is around a mergers and acquisitions integrative exercise/simulation that I have developed, through a case study. Besides discussing M&As, company valuation, financing structures, and other key finance topics, this case discussion and structure allows students to integrate their learning across different disciplines, as well as a reflection of how they work under stress, within a team, as well as competing with others.
“After many years, I repeatedly hear students saying they remember that day, and the learnings that stuck.”
Mixing the old with the new
Nuno commented: “I tend to mix traditional cases with current news and events.
“For example, this year, while discussing portfolio management, instead of starting the class with the case, I turned to GameStop. After showing students a couple of news stories/clips (so that everyone was aware of the key facts related to retail investors and social media), I adapted some of the case preparation questions to GameStop.
“I noticed that this mix, with a live case, made them even more interested in discussing, after 15 minutes, the original case planned for that session."
Testimonials
Hear from Nuno's students and colleagues.
“Why nominate Nuno Fernandes? Because he makes what is difficult for newcomers, very easy and reachable. He has the ability to maintain the eustress of the class during the session. He combines the theory, the case, and the reality, hence conclusions are clear insights even for the non-advanced students.
“Nuno connects the companies’ productive activities with the financial area, this gives you, as a student, a very complete sight of the business, and allows you to learn a lot. I like the way he teaches because he is pragmatic and assertive.
“What makes him outstanding is, among other things, that during the sessions he is funny and smart, so he has the two most powerful tools of teaching: knowledge and empathy.”
“I personally admire Nuno’s ability to actively engage students throughout the entire course and beyond.
“While it is difficult to figure out his ‘secret sauce’, I am sure it has to do with his innovative approach to the case teaching method. He not only relies on thought-provoking questions to have an enlightening discussion, but he also blends them with different pedagogical techniques (such as simulation, role-playing, and exercises). In this way, he is able to produce a whole integrative experience around a case, breaking the boundaries one could expect from a traditional case discussion.
“This unique approach to the case method has a long-lasting impact on our students, who often come to my office to the share their high level of satisfaction with Nuno’s course.”
“During his time at IMD, our case registration statistics show that he developed 77 cases, a number that puts him easily among the top case writers here. Some of his cases like ones on Telefonica’s bid for a mobile phone company in Brazil, and a simulation on InBev’s acquisition of Anheuser-Busch, soon became famous on campus for generating high engagement and enthusiasm among our MBA students. The Telefonica case later featured in the Financial Times.
“Furthermore, Nuno soon mastered classroom techniques for dynamic discussions. He was tough and yet the MBAs liked his methods such as asking questions designed to deliberately promote disagreement among students as a technique for raising different points of views – thereby demonstrating that Finance is as much a field of good judgements as it is of sophisticated techniques.”
Judges viewpoint
The competition was judged by Dominic Houlder, London Business School; Maria Ballesteros-Sola, California State University Channel Islands; Mats Urde, Lund University School of Economics and Management; and Richard McCracken, The Case Centre.
“The judges were deeply impressed by the shortlist of outstanding candidates. Each is highly valued and respected by students and colleagues and continues to make valuable contributions to case teaching.
“Our winner, Nuno Fernandes, has all the attributes one looks for in an outstanding case teacher. He is an adaptable and reflective instructor who is deeply committed to his students and fully sensitive to different learning styles within a class.
“His teaching accommodates different student levels and abilities, and he is adept in incorporating technology into his case teaching. His success is a welcome opportunity to place case teaching in Finance in the limelight.
“The judging panel are delighted to recognise Nuno for the outstanding quality and impact of his case teaching.”
Richard McCracken
Director of The Case Centre and chair of the judging panel
