Digital Classrooms Unite Fairfield, Luxembourg Campuses

Pandemic-driven necessity results in powerful, transatlantic possibilities

Digital classrooms, which became necessities when the COVID-19 pandemic took hold last year, have bridged the distance between Sacred Heart University’s Jack Welch College of Business & Technology (WCBT) campuses in Fairfield and Luxembourg. The outcome is a powerful, global, educational experience.

Established in 1991, SHU Luxembourg has now transformed the way it uses digital platforms and faculty experts to bolster exciting synergies that benefit students on both continents. “With our virtual capabilities, we can have a professor in both Fairfield and Luxembourg co-teach a management class, offering our students international perspectives and co-working opportunities,” said Martha Crawford, WCBT dean. “There’s value added for all of our students because they can have a global perspective and also be part of the SHU sphere.”

Like college campuses around the world, SHU Luxembourg last March had little more than a weekend to move all courses onto digital platforms, said Antoine Rech, administrative director of the Luxembourg campus. “It was a big change, but we knew we were not alone. We were supported in our efforts by the main campus and benefited from the resources there. We looked at adaptability and flexibility. From the first day, we were able to move from live sessions to online sessions,” Rech said.

Digital formats that have come to the fore during the COVID pandemic offer opportunities for professors to team-teach across the Atlantic or provide guest lectures for courses in the WCBT and other SHU colleges, said David Taylor, associate professor and marketing department chair, who has taught in Luxembourg for years. “The sharing, the collaboration and the technology enable us to deliver a better course experience to students,” he said.

A portfolio management course based in Luxembourg now features a professor on each campus, said Rech, noting the new flexibility is a boon to faculty as well. The Fairfield campus is home to top-notch professors in artificial intelligence and other technology who could extend their reach to Luxembourg, he said.

Far from a simple satellite campus, SHU Luxembourg is the only school in that country accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the premier global accrediting body for schools that offer undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees in business and accounting.

Steeped in the same socially responsible commitment found in Sacred Heart’s U.S. classrooms, the Luxembourg campus offers a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) with a finance, management or general concentration, and graduate professional certificate programs in corporate finance, global investments, leadership and modern business management. Geared to the working professional, the programs may be completed full-time with an internship, or part-time, and most courses start after business hours to accommodate busy professionals.

As a result, the Luxembourg campus attracts an international student body hailing from Belgium, Canada, China, India and beyond. This diverse student population provides conversations and perspectives that create a truly global experience for all, Crawford said.

Housed in Luxembourg’s Chamber of Commerce building in the heart of the financial district, SHU Luxembourg recently added more classroom space, and the chamber’s chief operating officer has joined SHU’s Board of Regents.

Connecting the two campuses more strategically offers many benefits, such as making the WCBT more desirable for international students. SHU is taking steps to boost recruitment and enrollment in India, for example. It also will enable Luxembourg-based professors to attend more faculty meetings and take program leadership roles, Rech and Crawford noted.

Over the last year, SHU reorganized the European campus’s governing board to support new initiatives and spotlight opportunities for both locations. “The aim, which is the case with all our initiatives, is to provide the greatest benefit for our students,” Rech said.

Crawford said she sees many more opportunities for exchange between the two sites. While program directors have always hailed from the U.S., the next MBA director could easily live in Luxembourg, she said. Also, Crawford noted that Luxembourg leadership on executive education and corporate outreach is an inspiration.

“It works very well,” she said of the transatlantic partnership. “Luxembourg is no longer a satellite. Luxembourg is a totally integrated unit with its own identity.”