The United State Agency for International Development (USAID), through its Science and Technology Research Innovation for Development (STRIDE) program, gathered 34 top published case study authors at Diamond Hotel in Manila to enhance their teaching skills using case teaching methods in the country's Higher Education Institutions.
The 34 published scholars were chosen after a competitive selection process facilitated by STRIDE. Earlier, the USAID-STRIDE program had trained more than a hundred Filipino teachers on how to publish case studies, following which around 90 of these professors published their cases at William David Institute of the University of Michigan, one of the top universities in the US.
During the weeklong-training in Manila, the participants underwent intensive training on how to engage students using case study as an effective teaching method in Philippine HEIs. During the workshop, the top HEI lecturers were provided with tools and training methods to conduct case teaching using their respective published STRIDE cases. Moreover, the workshop was designed in such a way that whoever attended it will re-echo similar training upon their return to their respective universities.
Philippine's STRIDE Industry and Partnership manager, Dr. Richard Abendan, during the training session, congratulated the participants for their published cases, most of which are now being taught in the Philippine's top universities.
STRIDE invited Professor Julie Felker from the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan to facilitate the case teaching workshop for the professor-participants who are mostly teaching business, sciences and management programs in their respective colleges and universities throughout Philippines.
STRIDE is a 26 million-dollar program of USAID that will strengthen applied research activity in Philippine universities and industries. It seeks to create a network for academic and industry researchers to spur innovation that is expected to bring about inclusive economic growth. The STRIDE program is expected to end in mid June 2018.
Professor Thaddeus Acuna, of UP Mindanao, told International Business Times (IBT) that the case study workshop is helpful for Mindanao faculty given the region is facing a number of challenges . "...Thus, by using case studies, we can now allow students to put them in case simulation exercises so they can connect theories to realistic challenges, " Acuna, who was one of the workshop participants, said.
Case teaching is a method of teaching that is used by the world's top universities such as National University of Singapore, Harvard University, Wharton Business School, University of Michigan and etc.
