Troy, N.Y. — Robert Sands, clinical professor of management at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has received a Fulbright Scholar lecturing/research award in business. He will use the grant to travel to Tunisia, Africa, to lecture, instruct staff, and develop curriculum for the graduate management program at the Institut Des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (IHEC) — the Institute of Advanced Business Studies.

As part of the Fulbright award, Sands will work with existing and planned business incubators and technology parks to assess the vocational and management training needs of the country’s small and medium-size start-up companies, and develop business programs that would become available in Tunisian educational institutions. He will also lecture at the IHEC, and develop graduate-level seminars and courses focused on leadership, staffing, and organizational effectiveness.

“The goal of this international collaboration is to build a better understanding of business organization and management from the perspective of the United States and Tunisia. I feel that my previous overseas teaching experiences will help to facilitate learning, and generate ideas to strengthen the development of leadership,” said Sands. “My work in Tunisia will address initiatives to accelerate the economic, educational, technical, and social development of the country through a focus on entrepreneurship and innovation.”

For more than 40 years, Sands has taught courses in organizational development and management, created  education curriculums, and held administrative positions in private and public institutions in the United States, Germany, Somalia, El Salvador, and China.

“I look forward to meeting with existing colleagues in North Africa and forming new international collaborations with the students, faculty, and businesses during my stay in Tunisia,” said Sands. “I want to use this opportunity to continue the relationship that has been established between Rensselaer and Tunisia, and hope that we can move forward in our goals of jointly addressing the needs of existing or new business ventures.”

Over the last two years, exchanges between the Lally School and Tunisian business schools have taken place in the areas of economic development and entrepreneurship.

Sands begins his 10-month appointment in September.

Contact: Jessica Otitigbe
Phone: (518) 276-6050
E-mail: otitij@rpi.edu