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Updates - 05/02/01

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Reaching across the globe

Visiting Professor Kumlachew Aberra bridges Bentley with Ethiopia Kumlachew

Aberra, Dean of Addis Ababa Commercial College (AACC) in Ethiopia, first visited the United States seven years ago. He came to Bentley in February 1994 while touring American colleges and universities to determine how AACC could benefit from links to U.S. schools, and has been to the U.S. many times since.

So it was a homecoming of sorts when Kumlachew returned to Bentley this semester to serve as a visiting professor. He's on sabbatical from AACC and teaching courses in the Accountancy and Management departments. His teachings bring global perspectives to students and the college community, particularly the different cultural and managerial approaches of developing countries. "There is little understanding about life in Africa and many third world countries, and culture and environment have a big impact on management practices," he notes. "Graduates need an awareness about the global economic and managerial issues and how things run outside of the United States. As the world is becoming a global village, future business leaders and managers need a reasonable understanding and appreciation of global issues."

Kumlachew is making connections with not only students, but also with faculty, in hopes of identifying common areas of interest for collaborative works. Programs that involve faculty and student exchange, he notes, will enrich the curriculum of participating institutions and create better understanding among people. His visit will also enable him to learn the latest practices in course delivery and academic administration, especially in regards to use of technology for teaching in the classroom - Bentley's forte.

He hopes to bring what he learns back to Ethiopia to help advance the educational experience at AACC. Although it's considered as a leader in modern Ethiopian business education, the institution still faces many hurdles, including faculty recruitment, and securing textbooks and up-to-date teaching materials. "Books are the major sources of knowledge for students in Ethiopia," Kumlachew explains. "And since nearly all books for teaching business are imported, the cost is beyond the reach of the average Ethiopian. It's up to the college to tap various sources for donations of books and other materials, and make them available in the library for common use."

During his visiting professorship here, Kumlachew is meeting people inside and outside of Bentley to assess ways of securing various kinds of assistance for AACC. Books in the areas of accounting, management, finance and information systems, regardless of their date of edition, will make a very big difference for AACC. Individuals and departments interested in making donations can contact Kumlachew at ext. 2080 or e-mail kaberra.

Addis Ababa Commercial College

Established in 1943 as Commercial School, Addis Ababa Commercial College (AACC) currently has more than 1,600 full-time and 2,400 part-time students, and offers training in accounting, office management, banking and finance, purchasing and supplies management, marketing management, and personnel management. In collaboration with Open University of UK, the college also offers a distance learning training in management to over 2,000 students all over the country. AACC recently added a new training area in Business Information Systems, and has finalized plans to start a bachelor degree training in Business Administration and Accounting in September 2001.


North meets South on the Bentley campus

During the last week of April, Bentley welcomed 21 Brazilian business leaders who recently completed the MBA/MOT degree program at the University of Sao Paulo, a Bentley partnership institution for more than a decade. The visit was organized by Isak Kruglianskas, professor of management at the University of Sao Paulo, and hosted here by Professor of Management Hans Thamhain. The executives attended a series of colloquia and seminars on a wide range of topics - from managerial leadership to knowledge management, entrepreneurship and project management. Guest speakers included teachers and scholars from Bentley, Harvard and MIT.

Professor of Management Mark Davis also arranged for the visitors to tour Boston-area companies including Agilent, EMC, Federal Express and Foxboro Corporation. Attendees reported enjoying seeing American corporations in action, as well as comparing U.S. and Brazilian business philosophies.

The University of Sao Paulo-Bentley partnership has grown over the past ten years; initially, the collaboration involved joint research and publications on MOT and project management teaching by Hans Thamhain and Isak Kruglianskas. Gradually, the relationship grew to annual scholarly exchanges of a few faculty members, and over the last two years, to large groups from Brazil coming to Bentley.

Hans reports his involvement with the program has been fulfilling, both personally and professionally. "Over the past decade, it's helped me bring an international perspective to my classes," says Hans. Additional activities and scholarly exchanges between Bentley and the University of Sao Paulo are planned for the future.



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Editor:
Helen Henrichs
781.891.2277
hhenrichs@bentley.edu
  
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