The Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) successfully hosted the final BNBU Academic Drinks of Semester 2 for the 2025-2026 academic year on Wednesday, 21 May 2026, drawing over 80 students and faculty members. The event celebrated the official launch of Cases on China's Partnerships and International Development in Asia, published by IGI Global, USA. A true transdisciplinary, faculty-student collaboration, the book was co-edited by Dr. Youssef EL HAOUSSINE (Assistant Professor of FBM), Dr. Edoardo MONACO (Associate Professor of FHSS & Department Head of DSS), Dr. Selcuk COLAKOGLU (Associate Professor of FHSS & Associate Head of DSS), and Dr. Michal VAVRIK (Assistant Professor of FHSS), with 18 case studies authored by students and alumni from both faculties as full contributing authors.

Dr. EL HAOUSSINE shared his experience mentoring student authors

Dr. EL HAOUSSINE reflected on the journey behind the book, where each case study examines China's cooperation with a specific Asian country within the Belt and Road Initiative framework. He described how the project brought together faculty expertise from business and humanities, while engaging students from both faculties as primary authors from the outset. Rather than serving as research assistants, students took intellectual ownership of their case studies, with faculty co-editors providing structured mentorship through research design, drafting, and peer review.

Student authors shared their experience

Student authors from FBM and FHSS shared their perspectives candidly, noting that working within a transdisciplinary team enriched their learning by exposing them to different disciplinary lenses. Many described seeing their names listed as authors in an internationally published volume as a transformative milestone that redefined what they believed was achievable as undergraduates.

Faculty co-editors shared the next casebook publication opportunity

Dr. EL HAOUSSINE, Dr. COLAKOGLU, and Dr. VAVRIK took turns introducing the next casebook publication opportunity, which will shift focus to China's partnerships with African countries. Designed for students who wish to advance their academic journey, the new project will provide a structured, guided writing experience from research through to publication.

Participants listened to the lecture attentively

A lively Q&A session followed, with students eagerly asking about the research, writing, and co-authorship experience, while faculty members posed detailed questions about the forthcoming project. The exchange reflected genuine enthusiasm for this collaborative model and sparked deeper conversation about fostering meaningful faculty-student publication partnerships across disciplines.

Q&A session

Moving forward, CTL will continue to support transdisciplinary, faculty-student collaboration, creating lasting opportunities for BNBU faculty and students to work together as co-creators of published knowledge.