School of Business and Management ITB was very happy to collaborate with Fulbright Specialist Dr. Vanessa Patrick-Ralhan, the Bauer Professor of Marketing, School of Business at the University of Houston, from November 10 to December 10, 2022.

During her time in Bandung, she shared her vast knowledge and experiences through a series of faculty development workshops. Topics discussed in these events include developing a research roadmap, writing and publishing research, and translating research into action. Dr. Patrick-Ralhan also shared best practices for classroom teaching. Both faculty members and doctoral students attended these activities.

The research roadmap development workshop provided faculty members with insightful steps to form a research program that contributed to a specific field that was interesting to the researchers and the research audience. Publishing was also an important contribution expected from the academics; therefore, this topic was shared to improve the faculty’s capabilities to publish in reputable journals.

As a prolific writer, Dr. Patrick-Ralhan shared her experiences of continuing to keep writing despite the busy activities of lecturing and doing research.

“Research writers need to think as journal editors, how to engage the readers, and common mistakes as writers”, she said.

In the Translating Research into Action workshop, she explained how to move from one success curve to the next and keep innovating to become a good public professor.

Teaching is integral to being a faculty member; therefore, best practices are always sought. Dr. Patrick-Ralhan shared her insights on shifting paradigms in higher education, how to develop student involvement, provide clarity, and build effective class discussions. She also motivated the faculty by asking participants to find their ‘why.’

This series of workshops engaged our faculty as at the end of the month, we had a community of inspired faculty members ready to begin the next semester in mid-January 2023.

SBM-ITB will continue collaborating with Dr. Patrick-Ralhan with possible research collaborations with the Business Strategy and Marketing Interest Group. There are also many formal collaboration opportunities between the SBM-ITB and the Bauer School of Business at the University of Houston.

Dr Ira Fachira, the director of the International Relations Office and assistant professor, said that SBM-ITB was grateful for having the opportunity to host Dr. Vanessa Patrick-Ralhan through the Fulbright Specialist Program.

“Within the short time she spent in Bandung, she helped our institution to improve our faculty members’ capabilities in research and teaching. We also achieved our goals in expanding our international network”, she asserted.