According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Asta Pundzienė, Dean of Research and Doctoral Studies at ISM, the case teaching/learning method has frequently proven to be one of the most effective methods for narrowing the gap between theory and practice in management studies. “Case teaching is used by the most famous universities in the world; however, in the Baltic States, case teaching/learning represents an innovation. Consequently, Lithuanian students will eventually have an opportunity to analyse Lithuanian business cases which reflect the specific context of the Baltic business environment and processes as well as accumulate relevant experience. This is highly significant,” stated Assoc. Prof. Dr. Asta Pundzienė.

This representative of ISM asserts that it is important to maintain close cooperation with businesses which could help improve the quality of management studies by involving scholars in the research of specific business processes. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Asta Pundzienė also notes that the contribution of academic knowledge specialists and a thorough understanding of business processes are necessary for developing business cases while building mutual trust.

According to Vitalija Freitakaitė, Director of the company Javinė (whose business case was presented at ISM), this is an excellent educational teaching tool which helps analyse the situation in real time and space.  Additionally, for business communities this represents an opportunity to look at their problems through the eyes of focused students and receive suggestions on how to solve practical problems. “While I was studying at ISM, I saw how a detailed and in-depth analysis of enterprises’ cases helps identify solutions to many problems,” stressed Vitalija Freitakaitė.

“It has been said that putting theory into practice is rather difficult, whereas cases reflect reality. One can see to what extent theories are or are not put into practice. It is important both for companies and students to understand this clearly. It is possible to speed up the development of cases only by consolidating understanding and educating companies as well as their employees,” stated Audrius Džiaugys, head of the merchandise group at Omnitel UAB.

During the event which was held at ISM, experts from Lithuania, the United Kingdom, Estonia and Greece introduced the method of business cases and its benefits for companies. Representatives of ISM and the University of Tartu presented the first Lithuanian and Estonian business cases which had been developed in cooperation with Lithuanian and Estonian enterprises. These business cases include improving a company’s production processes, setting salary levels for employees, starting a business and ensuring its entry into the market, becoming the most popular employer, etc. No case illustrating and analysing the development of various areas of business had previously been created in these countries. This project, which is currently being carried out at ISM University of Management and Economics, is aimed at adopting the method of case teaching/learning in Lithuania.

The Lithuanian and Estonian cases were developed on the basis of the Leonardo da Vinci Transfer of Innovation Project entitled “Transfer of innovative teaching-learning experiential methods for management education”.