Advancing pedagogical practices and methods at the GSEM

For the 2022-2023 academic year, the Geneva School of Economics and Management (GSEM) relaunched its Pedagogical Innovation initiative, reaffirming its continued support of pedagogical advancements.

The selection committee of Dr. Federica Sbergami (President), Dr. Saraly Andrade De Sa, and Professor Michel Ferrary focused on innovation in terms of an evolution of the usual teaching practice towards new formats through new teaching methods or processes, or at the technical level with the use of new technologies.

Four projects were selected for funding and development:

The Business and Human Rights Clinic by Professor Dorothée Baumann-Pauly
Institutional project, Master in Responsible Management
The BHR Clinic is an intense and multi-level learning experience that incentivizes applied research. It is a unique experience that enables business students to transfer theoretical concepts into practice through addressing a business and human rights challenge. By engaging closely with corporate partners, the students gain confidence in professional contexts, experience in communicating and presenting professionally, and expand their professional network.

Organizing Hackathons by Professor Giuseppe Ugazio and Dr. Thomas Maillart
Course: Innovation and Philanthropy, Master in Responsible Management
Students play an active role in self-organizing a hackathon; a day in which they work together to find creative, innovative, and tangible solutions to complex social challenges faced by a partner organization. Students can implement the tools and knowledge acquired in the course and the experience gained from organizing a hackathon, working in teams, and learning how to adopt group decisions constitutes a solid asset for students in the job market.

Automatic correction of formative and summative evaluations by Dr. Laurent Moccozet
Course: Introduction to programming, Bachelor in Economics and Management
This project sets up adapted tools to improve the formative and summative evaluation of students’ programming skills. For the formative exercises, students will be able to test their solutions as much as necessary, and for the summative exercises, the teaching team will be able to quickly correct the programming exercises.

English version of the Mathematics Preparatory School by Dr. Oumaima Ajmi
Course: Mathematics Preparatory School, Bachelor in Economics and Management
The innovative format of the Mathematics Preparatory School has been developed around an initial self-assessment that allows each student to identify their strengths and weaknesses before starting the Bachelor's degree. In addition to mathematical revision, the digital platform allows students to develop self-assessment and independent learning skills. At present, the platform is only available in French, and due to the bilingual nature of the GSEM bachelor program, it is essential to be able to offer a version in English. This will also be appreciated by the University of Geneva's Horizon académique project, whose student population are not francophone.

The Pedagogical Innovation initiative reflects the GSEM’s commitment to developing new formats of teaching practices, improving teaching quality, and promoting innovative pedagogical methods.