An overview of the CSB Pilot Course at University of Split. Online teaching during COVID-19

Professor Dario Miočević, Vice Dean, Research & International Cooperation at University of Split, Faculty of Economics, Business and Tourism (Croatia) gives an overview of the ongoing project also underlining the importance of online tools at this difficult time we are living.

This semester, at the Faculty of Economics, Business and Tourism, we have started with the implementation of the Pilot Course within the Cultural Studies in Business K203 project in the field of Erasmus Plus.

We have 21 enrolled students: 10 of them are from our University and 11 are Erasmus-based students. We believe that such a cultural mix of students is very convenient since we explore business topics from broader cultural and societal issues.

The course started with a series of lectures on contemporary and alternative economics concepts, and now students attend lectures related to formal institutions and cultural systems. Last week they attended lectures on the importance of formal institutions (laws, regulations and politics) and on business activities delivered by myself.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak prevented us from meeting in real classrooms, we have managed to set up a class via Zoom, a video conferencing tool. It was a new and amazing experience for both me and students.

After the lectures, students were required to attend individual and group assignments to better attain the learning outcomes of the topic. Individual assignments provided for a debate-based question on a forum (via Moodle) and students were asked to take a stand on the issue “Whether Big Tech companies (such as Google, Facebook) should be more regulated”. In group assignment, students were required to investigate the laws and regulations in their home countries and analyze which aspects of these laws and regulations would hamper their intentions to start-up a business (e.g. e-commerce platform for buying and selling organic and ecological fruits and vegetables). Students found these individual and group exercises very helpful.

We are very happy with the progress so far and the whole CSB Croatian team is looking forward to continuous interactions and knowledge exchange with students on topics which are generally underrepresented in business and economics curricula.

Here is the photo from the Zoom session on the lecture “Formal institutions and business systems”.

Article

written by Dario Miočević, Vice Dean, Research & International Cooperation at University of Split, Faculty of Economics, Business and Tourism (Croatia).

Team Leader and lecturer on behalf of the "CSB pilot course" core activity of the Erasmus Plus K203 Project "Cultural Studies in Business".