Towards an international community of scholars

During my visiting period at the George Washington School of Business in Washington DC (United States), I had the chance to interview Mrs. Wafa Abou-Zaki, the Executive Director of the Research Program in Social and Organizational Learning (RPSOL), which is part of the Department of Management and hosted me and my research while there. Mrs. Abou-Zaki works with the faculty in the School of Business and in other schools of campus and she manages all aspects of the Visiting Scholars Program including marketing and recruiting. Mrs. Abou-Zaki is the liaison between the department and the varied international entities.

A first question Mrs. Abou-Zaki, how the George Washington School of Business (GWSB) Visiting Scholars Program (VSP) started?

The Visiting Scholars Program started in 1994 at the Research Program in Social and Organizational Learning (RPSOL). Professor Stuart Umpleby founded RPSOL with a focus on the interaction between ideas and society and the design of ideas as a way of transforming organizations and societies. 

The Visiting Scholars Program has a similar focus by helping scholars to develop their research and teaching.  The program creates a community of scholars, promotes research and fosters the transformation of universities and thereby societies.  When they return home, the scholars facilitate change and adjustment of their institutions to educational reform.

At the beginning of the program we hosted scholars through the Junior Faculty Development Program (JFDP), a US program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State. We then branched out to hosting scholars from other countries sponsored by their governments, universities, corporations or themselves. 

So, what is the aim of the program? 

The goal of the program is to help improve education using modern teaching, research and learning methods. 

It is a challenging goal, what has been achieved during these years?

A great number of scholars who participated in the program have been promoted to higher positions when they returned to their home countries. In the 1990s some of the scholars were fired when they returned home, because they suggested changing the teaching and research methods of their universities. Over time the negative reaction of colleagues and superiors diminished as the number of scholars who believed that changes were needed were able to set change in motion.

Some professors developed entrepreneurial skills and started their own training programs using models that they learned while at GW.  They used what they had learned at GW to improve organizational productivity.  Most of the scholars moved up within their universities and became heads of departments, and directors of international programs.  Many continue their research and present papers at conferences taking place in the US, Europe and China. 

What are, in your opinion, the best achieved results?

The best results are the learning and transformation that the scholars experience during the fellowship. The scholars do not recognize that transformation until they return home. This is something that is fascinating to me and to the scholars when they notice it.

What about the best scholars, where are they now?

It is very difficult to identify the best scholars because their effectiveness depends in part on their environment. Effectiveness does not depend on one scholar or a few.  In my opinion each scholar is the finest because each one is trying to create change and apply more modern methods to further their teaching and learning skills. I believe all the scholars have been successful because they all were able to develop a greater understanding of their field of interest and of teaching and research methods. The scholars improved their communications skills through dialogue and discussions of issues that matter to them and they gained insights into how to engage their colleagues in change that will improve the educational system in their respective countries.  Some were able to modernize teaching and learning at their universities faster than others.  Success in achieving change does not depend solely on the person who leads the change but also on the support of their superiors and their inclination to embrace change.

Speaking about the environment, you organize a lot of activities for the scholars, can you explain this part of your job to our reader? What are the main activities a visiting scholar is involved to?

The Visiting Scholars Program has contributed to the enhancement of education at GW.  The scholars attend courses to observe American teaching methods.  They engage in class discussions and learn about the experts in their fields. They undertake research and learn that copying other peoples' work is viewed as plagiarism in the US. They learn quantitative methods for doing research. We connect the scholars with faculty members on campus, and at other universities as well. The scholars do volunteer work and engage in Service Learning activities. Scholars are invited to academic and social events that take place at GW and in particular at the School of Business.

We organize forums to engage the scholars in cross-cultural and multi-disciplinary discussions. We arrange site visits to private organizations, government agencies, academic institutions and national and international Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO).  These activities deepen the scholars' understanding of American business culture, where leadership, in any type of organizations or academic institution, stand for accountability, transparency, and shared governance.  It is the same for faculty members; their profession is to disseminate knowledge to educate the new generation of student. This in itself requires accountability, transparency and shared governance as educators the Visiting Scholars share the same responsibilities.  

The program has been a success because we work with the scholars beginning before their arrival to understand the specific academic goals that they want to achieve while at GW. We provide the scholars with an appropriate learning environment and a structure suitable to their individual needs.  We create teams of scholars diverse in nationality and fields of interest who work together during and after the fellowship period. We continue our relationship with them by e-mail and Skype after they leave.

We also organize cultural visits for the scholars inside and outside Washington, DC.  The scholars enjoy guided tours of national sites, historical neighborhoods, and religious and public institutions. They are invited to American homes. In return the scholars participate in an annual event where they prepare national dishes of their respective countries to share with faculty and staff.

Do you have some positive stories you remember and you can share with us?

I consider each scholar as a positive story. The fact that they were willing to cross seas and mountains for a learning opportunity is a positive story.  Some positive stories are the joy the scholars feel when they are able to publish articles with American university professors.  Another exciting event was when one of our scholars was able to have a one on one meeting with Mrs. Hillary Rodham Clinton when she was Senator.  

The whole program is a positive story. The GW SB Visiting Scholars Program is a great learning experience for everyone involved. The scholars participate in the program to enhance their knowledge in their respective fields but they leave with much more. They work closely with their mentors and build a partnership with them which they maintain after they leave the US. This unique learning experience for exchanging views and information fosters cross-cultural understanding and builds long lasting relationships.