Lecturer of the UP in faculty exchange
In April 2015, IUP had the opportunity to host Brigitta Balint from the University of Pecs in Hungary. She is part of a faculty exchange that sent John Lipinski from IUP to Hungary in March. Her goal was to visit classes at IUP to learn effective classroom management techniques from U.S. faculty members, work with IUP librarians and faculty members to further her research, and deliver lectures on Hungarian business practices to IUP students.
Balint is a lecturer at the University of Pecs and is in the final stages of completing her doctorate. She noted that there are a lot of similarities between her students and the students at IUP. She appreciated the efforts that IUP makes to stay in contact with alumni and get them involved with the current students.
She noted a number of efforts that she would like to bring back to Hungary with her. She was particularly impressed with the Eberly College of Business and Information Technology’s Business Day, noting that the panel discussions were very informative, and it was a wonderful opportunity for students to interact with professionals and learn what it takes to succeed. She also had the opportunity to attend the Accounting Association’s career day dinner and made similar comments. Helping students to network and connect makes a big difference in helping students launch their career.
She enjoyed delivering lectures at IUP as well. She enjoyed the students’ curiosity and appreciated all of their questions. She noted that the Hungarian graduate students and IUP’s MBA students had many similar motivations. Her favorite questions were regarding Hungary’s advantages and disadvantages of being a member of the European Union.
She also had opportunities to meet with some local Indiana-based companies to learn about their human resources practices, which is her area of academic research. IUP alumni Corey Berkey of the Kuzneski Financial Group and Jack Delaney of the Delaney Automotive Group both spent time with her reviewing their operations.
Her visit to IUP was a wonderful learning experience for her as she deepened her knowledge of U.S. business practices. She returned the favor by sharing her expertise on European business practices and expanding the world view of our students. Balint would love to have future opportunities to visit and work with IUP, and she hopes that IUP will continue to nurture their relationship with the University of Pecs. She hopes to host both IUP faculty members and students in Hungary soon.
Associate Dean Prashanth Bharadwaj commented, “It was our pleasure to host a young scholar from the University of Pecs. The visit by Brigitta followed a visit from two other representatives from Hungary in March and is among the first steps in expanding student and faculty exchanges between our two universities and possibly exploring team-taught courses by videoconferencing and other innovative programs.”
"Balint, University of Pecs, Participates in Faculty Exchange" by Indiana University of Pennsylvania