Implementing the results of economic research in teaching the European business environment course

Abstract

The present paper explores the research-teaching links – and their corresponding problems – in an Economics master’s programme at Kyiv National Economic University. It analyses this programme in comparison with established models of teaching-research links (i.e., research-led, research-oriented, research-based, and research-tutored). It is concluded that tutors’ own research activities serve as grounds for implementing the research-led teaching model in not only Economics, but across most of master’s programmes in Ukraine (even those not devoted to science), since university academic staff are constantly involved in research activities, the outcomes of which should be implemented via the educational curricula they deliver. This paper therefore uncovers the didactic methods and teaching practices used to implement the results of the author’s economic research in their teaching of the master’s course: European business ernvironment. The author describes how such research outcomes may be translated into captivating teaching exercises for undergraduate students;, which teaching methods proved efficient in building students’ research and analytical competencies; and how feedback from anonymous questionnaires may be successfully employed in order to constantly revise and improve the curriculum. It is argued that the European business environment course should be understood as a research-led and research-tutored teaching model, since the emphasis is mostly on the content of contemporary research in the field, but not on its specific processes or problems. Indeed, such a problem-based learning approach, coupled with the teamwork and analytical tasks, fit well into the research-tutored model. These pedagogical approaches make a strong contribution to the formation of students’ research competencies, transforming them into participants of economic research themselves, where they are free to choose their own specific research focus (e.g., industry environment, relevant regulatory spheres, and EU financial instruments).