Teaching at Universities in Different Countries

Soon it will be spring break at UMass Amherst and, although it is still only February, the weather is milder and the days longer and quite pleasant in Massachusetts.

Rather than jetting somewhere warm during spring break for a nice holiday, like some of my students, most certainly, will be doing, I will be in England (and I  hope that the "beast from the east" has left by then and, along with it,  the snow and cold).

Last summer I received an invitation to teach a masterclass in England at Lancaster University and was able to arrange my masterclass, which is on Network Equilibrium, to coincide with my spring break. The masterclass consists of about 8 hours worth of lectures and will be given to Master's and PhD students in Operational (Operations Research) and Statistics. I was invited by Distinguished Professor of Operational Research Dr. Kevin Glazebrook and was honored and delighted that I could accept the invitation. I have been enjoying preparing my lectures and am very much looking forward to meeting students there and also seeing numerous fabulous colleagues in my field. STOR-i is the centre hosting my visit. I will be covering theory as well as numerous exciting applications in my masterclass!

The first time that I taught outside of the United States was back in 1996 when I received a Distinguished Visiting Professorship at KTH (the Royal Institute of Technology) in Stockholm, Sweden. One of the goals of that program was to increase the visibility of female academics. So, with family in tow, off we went to live in Sweden.  I thoroughly enjoyed having offices both in Systems Theory and Optimization and in Regional Planning. To get from one office to the other I hiked through the woods and crossed a river. I sometimes (actually, often) wondered what my daughter was doing in a Swedish daghes (daycare) while I taught a course and she dined on salmon and dilled potatoes and also learned how to climb trees and cliffs at a very young age! The 6 months we spent in Sweden were magical and I enjoyed teaching a class in optimization and networks. We returned to Stockholm, and lived at the Wenner Gren Centre, for extended periods multiple times. When an opportunity presented itself to be a Visiting Professor at the School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg (the second largest city in Sweden), I took it and in the last several years have had multiple visits there. I treasure my colleagues around the globe and the richness of the cultural experiences (plus food).

In 2002, I had a dream come true (my mother, who was a WW II refugee, always told me that if I had a chance to go to Innsbruck, Austria, that I should). I was offered a Distinguished Chaired Fulbright at SOWI at the University of Innsbruck, and, again, my family accompanied me since I not only did research (and elementary school children only go to school there for a few hours a day), but also taught a slew of courses.   The first time that the SOWI students hammered on their desks after a lecture of mine with their fists, I was wondering what I had done wrong. This is actually a sign that they enjoyed my lecture very much!

Tina Wakolbinger, who was one of my students there, graduated, worked for a year in Austria,  and then became my doctoral student at the Isenberg School of Management. She received her PhD in 2007, achieved Full Professor status in only 4 years and is now at the Vienna University of Economics and Business in Austria as a Professor of Supply Chain Services and Networks and Head of the Research Institute of Supply Chain Management.  Clearly, a big success story, and also an example of what can happen if you stretch your boundaries and teach in another country.  Tina invited me a few years ago to teach at her university, and I instructed an intense course on Humanitarian Logistics. A student in that course is now one of Tina's doctoral students.

From Sweden to Austria to Sweden and Austria and now soon off to England to teach and to acquire experiences that I share with my students back in the US!

Head of the Research Institute for Supply Chain Management

Head of the Research Institute for Supply Chain Management

Some Great Books I am Reading this Summer

This has been quite the eventful (and wonderful) summer. After a glorious month at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden we returned to Amherst and, in just the past few days, we took part in the Isenberg Business Leadership Awards gala in Boston and also celebrated my doctoral student's Dong "Michelle" Li's completion of her PhD and acceptance of a tenure-track Assistant Professorship job offer. Michelle had 3 such job offers and made her decision after careful deliberations.

I am so proud of Michelle, who is my 18th PhD student, whose dissertation committee I have chaired. Below we are together after our dinner celebration at Judie's this past Monday evening.

This summer, in addition to spending a month in Sweden, doing research, co-organizing a conference in Greece, which takes place next week, and making preparations for the EURO conference, plus the fact that I am also writing a book, I have had the pleasure of reading some great books (all nonfiction and appearing in the photo below).

And to the authors and editors of these books there is a neat "connection."
 

All the volumes in the photo above I received from the author or editor, except for the first one, The Handbook of Global Logistics, edited by James H. Bookbinder, which I got from the publisher, Springer, since I had the pleasure of reviewing this 21 chapter handbook for the European Journal of Operational Research, and the review is now in press. Bookbinder's inspiration for the handbook came out of a special issue of  Transportation Research E, volume 41(6), 2005, on Global Logistics, that he guest edited. I admit I had a  paper in that special issue: Global Supply Chain Network Dynamics with Multicriteria Decision-Making Under Risk and Uncertainty,, Anna Nagurney and Dmytro Matsypura, Transportation Research E 41: (2005) pp 585-612. I did not, however, have an invited contribution in the handbook that I reviewed.

I read Bookbinder's magnum opus cover to cover and prepared the review of it while in Sweden (working many hours on it). I enjoyed the handbook a lot since the theme is of great interest to me and I also teach a course on Transportation and Logistics. The chapters are by different authors, some of whom I know very well.

The book, Forecasting Urban Travel, by Davie E. Bouce and Huw Williams, I am now reading and I have read several chapters. It is over 600 pages and is a historical rendition of transportation forecasting over a sixty year period from US and UK perspectives. It is a massive, extensive piece of scholarship. The book is my nightly reading now as a reward for a good day. I am eagerly looking forward to Chapter 7 on Transportation Network Equilibrium. Transportation Network Equilibrium is a topic that was my first research passion (and that my dissertation advisor, Stella Dafermos at Brown University, contributed so much to). It was  one of the themes of my dissertation at Brown University. I did get a preview of Chapter 7, since David Boyce, who has been a mentor and friend for many years, wanted my comments and feedback on it. This chapter, alone, I believe, is worth buying the book for since so many operations researchers and transportation scientists are noted there and their contributions. I am so honored to be cited in this book!

The book, Telecommunications Network Economics, I am taking with me on my upcoming European 3 week sojourn. Patrick Maille, one of the authors (with Bruno Tuffin), sent me a complimentary copy. Given that my great collaborator, Tilman Wolf, and our Co-PIs on a big NSF grant, Jim Griffioen, Ken Calvert, Rudra Dutta, and George Rouskas, with our students, have been working on the Future Internet Architecture project known as ChoiceNet, for 4 years, now, this book should be a great read. And, yes, I peeked -- I am cited - specifically, my Supply Chain Network Economics book is, which I wrote while at Harvard.  Patrick Maille  is an Associate Professor at Telecom Bretagne (part of Institut Mines-Telecom) in France. This year he is visiting Jean Walrand’s team at UC Berkeley (I am a huge fan of Walrand's work). Maille has asked me to serve on his habilitation (Habilitation à Diriger les Recherches, in French)  committee, that he will defending  in Rennes, France in October. I have agreed.

A habilitation, according to Wikipedia, is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in many countries in Europe, Central Asia, and Egypt^... Earned usually after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, the habilitation requires that the candidate write a professorial thesis (or habilitation thesis) based on independent scholarship.  I will also be reading his habilitation thesis this summer!

The book, Innovation Spaces in Asia, edited by Maurren McKelvey and Sharmistha Bagchi-Sen, I received as a gift from Maureen McKelvey at a lunch in Sjobaren in Gothenburg, Sweden 2 weeks ago. Maureen is a great friend and an exceptional scholar and served, for several years,  as the Dean of the Graduate School at the School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg. Her fellow co-editor, Sharmistha, was also a Visiting Professor at the school with me. Given the excitement surrounding innovation and entrepreneurship (and the Isenberg School received a gift of $10 million to fund the Berthiaume Center for Entrepreneurship, for example), this book I will be reading after returning from Europe.

You may have noticed that the bottom set of three books featured above in the photo has a Swedish connection. I already mentioned the book co-edited by McKelvey, which I carried back from Gothenburg less than 2 weeks ago. I also carried the volume edited by Jonas Floden, Sustainable Intermodal Biofuel Transport, and the dissertation, Essays on Performance Management Systems, Regulation and Change in Swedish Banks, by Viktor Elliott, who successfully defended his dissertation while I was in Gothenburg and I went to the party. The defense itself was in Swedish so I waited in my office for it to be over with and then we celebrated with champagne (see photo below)!

I have read parts of both of these books and have enjoyed them a lot. Jonas and I are obsessed with sustainability and supply chains and we have co-authored several papers together. At the EURO Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, in July I will be presenting our paper, Fashion Supply Chain Network Competition with Ecolabelling, Anna Nagurney, Min Yu, and Jonas Floden, Sustainable Fashion Supply Chain Management: From Sourcing to Retailing, T.-M. Choi and T.C.E. Cheng, Editors, Springer (2015) pp 61-84. Viktor's friendship I will always value. He was always ready and willing to give me lots of advice during my 4 year tenure as a Visiting Professor at the University of Gothenburg (including great restaurant recommendations) and for that I thank him!

Congratulations to all the authors and editors of the above books as well as to the contributors of the edited volumes! There is nothing like a great book!

Happy Summer Reading!

And to those who are writing book, Happy Writing!

Trolleys - My Favorite Mode of Transport

It's been wonderful to be back in beautiful Sweden!

I especially enjoy the great public transportation system - such a contrast to what we have in the United States.

This time around, the apartment that the University of Gothenburg has provided for me is not in walking distance of the School of Business, Economics and Law where I am a Visiting Professor, so my commute has been by public transit.

My favorite mode of transportation here is trolleys! I have a month's pass of unlimited travel and it is money well spent.

There are three types of trolleys (also known as trams) in Gothenburg, based on their ages (vintage) as well as a trolley that one can rent for special events and that flies the Ukrainian flag (my heritage) and is featured below.

 

Gothenburg has the largest tram network system in Sweden.  Some of the various trolleys that I have ridden are below.

Many of the trolleys have the symbol of the city on them.

One of my favorite trolleys is  Number 6  since it is only about 2 blocks from my apartment complex and leaves me about 2 blocks from my Business School here. I have never had to wait longer than 5 minutes for a trolley.

And, with Sweden's emphasis on technology and sustainability, at each trolley stop there is an electronic board with information on the time for the arrival of the trolleys:

 I like the trolley map in front of the Central Train Station in Gothenburg.

Sometimes though, I will purposely hop off the trolley one or two stops before my final destination so that I can walk (another favorite mode of transport for me) and experience the beauty of the landscape here as well as the architecture. Below is my favorite tree in Gothenburg.

Whenever I teach my Transportation and Logistics class at the Isenberg School at UMass, which I do each Fall and I love teaching this class, I always ask my students what is their favorite mode of transportation. Regularly, I hear that airplanes or trains are favorites and, sometimes, bicycles. I have to say that my answer will now be trolleys!

Why I Love Being A Visiting Professor in Sweden

One might wonder why, once the academic year is over, a faculty member would travel thousands of miles to be a Visiting Professor on another continent?

This is something I have been doing now for 5 years.  Come mid-May I am off to the School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden where I hold a Visiting Professorship in Operations Management.

I have had an affinity for Sweden, going over many years, and it may be because I am of Ukrainian heritage and I would not be surprised if I had some good Viking blood in me. I always feel completely comfortable when I land in Sweden.

My colleagues at the University of Gothenburg are always so warm and welcoming.  I enjoy the research that we have done together, especially with Professor Jonas Floden, on various supply chain, freight, and sustainability themes, and the many conversations that I have had with faculty in the Transportation and Logistics group as well as in Finance and even in Energy Economics. I look forward to  research that we will be doing.

I also very much enjoy my interaction with students here on various transportation and logistics themes, including shipping and urban freight, as well as on financial topics.

I have been here, this time around, only 10 days and already have had so many rich experiences. Below are some photos taken just during this past week.

Nice to have the sign below on my office door and today the school was flying the Swedish flag.

Celebrating last Thursday with Dr. Niklas Arvidsson and his wife, Alla,  Niklas's dissertation prize with delicious Swedish food, of course at Hus Pelle, a restaurant with the same owner for 30 years.

Celebrating Zoi Nikopoulou's recent wedding with colleagues, students,  and staff as is a tradition every Thursday during our afternoon cake and coffee sessions

 Enjoying the beauty of nature and architecture in the city of Gothenburg

Sampling the treats, some only visually

Loving the experiences of riding the trams in this very green city, some of which even fly the Ukrainian flag!

Plus, how can you not love a place which hosts the biggest half marathon in the world, which took place yesterday, with over 64,000 runners from 64 different countries. The logistics behind the organization were tremendous, including the rerouting of several trams plus even having free boats to ferry passengers over the canals and under bridges downtown towards the Central Station - a great experience of intermodal transport!

Working and living in a port city that is so forward in terms of transportation and policies is truly inspiring. I thank the University of Gothenburg and especially the School of Business, Economics and Law for such exceptional opportunities.

Blogging from Sweden

It's great to be back in Sweden. Since 2012 I have been a Visiting Professor at the School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg and I spend about 44 days a year in the beautiful city of Gothenburg.

I arrived in Gothenburg on Thursday to a day of glorious sunshine which held up even yesterday.

I am living in another part of the city than I have been in the past so it is a bit too far to walk to work since I would have to walk over a long bridge. So, instead, I have a monthly pass to ride the trolleys, which I love.

The trolleys (sometimes called trams here) run frequently, are reliable, and are very comfortable - what more can you ask for!

I will not be getting into a car for a month. A taxi brought me from the airport and the next time I will be in a car will be when I head back to the airport.

I've already had a chance to explore some of my favorite spots in this very green city including the Slottskogan Park, where I was asked for directions in Swedish. I was able to give directions in English. It's also been delightful to find new foodstores and to carry the food home. Swedish cities and towns are so walkable and designed with amenities in mind. About 2 blocks from my apartment complex is a Saluhall where I can buy fresh fish, baked goods, and lots of fruits and vegetables.

I am looking forward to seeing my Swedish colleagues at work on Monday!

Graduation and Prom Season in Sweden

It is fabulous to be back in Sweden as a Visiting Professor of Operations Management at the University of Gothenburg (GU) in Sweden. I have been busy revising research papers with a colleague here, taking part in many fabulous discussions on logistics and transportation, working on new projects, and, since I am living in this city I can't help but also enjoy the numerous celebratory events taking place at this time of the year!

Yes, folks, it is graduation and prom season in Sweden. There are even special cakes for the graduates in the bakeries and bouquets of flowers in the flower shops for them.

The formal graduation for the graduate degree recipients at the School of Business, Economics and Law at GU takes place next week and I have so enjoyed this elegant ceremony for the past two years and was so honored to be selected to deliver the commencement address twice in the past two years

But even before then,  the streets of Gothenburg have been filled with celebrants and and increase in the associated volume of  cheers and joy! Below are photos taken in the past several days in this great city.

Congratulations to all the degree recipients!

Photos of Spring in Beautiful Sweden

As promised in my previous blogpost, in this post I am including photos that I took this past week in Gothenburg, Sweden, where I spent 10 days, as part of my contract as a Visiting Professor at the School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg. This visit overlapped with spring break at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I am a professor at its Isenberg School of Management.

Given that there is more cold and snow in the forecast for Massachusetts this week even though spring has arrived, at least on the calendar, the below photos, taken in central Gothenburg and in Haga, which borders the Business School,  will remind us that, hopefully, we will eventually see some flowers and milder temperatures in New England!

Welcome back from spring break!

With best wishes for a great rest of the spring semester!