A Week of Shared Learning: International Collaboration in Entrepreneurial Education at Newcastle University Business School

Dr Lucy Hatt and Károly Vizdák

10th June 2025

At Newcastle University Business School, we pride ourselves on cultivating a global mindset through our research, our pedagogy, and, increasingly, through meaningful international academic exchanges. Hosting Károly Vizdák from Corvinus University of Budapest this past week was a vivid reminder of the value such collaboration brings, not just for individual scholars, but for our institutions and the global academic community at large.

Károly, a strategic advisor at the Talent Management Centre in Budapest and a doctoral researcher at the University of Debrecen, visited our School as part of his PhD inquiry into the impact of coaching approaches on higher education, with a particular focus on developing entrepreneurial competencies. His visit was driven by a desire to better understand the UK higher education landscape, engage with new ideas, and receive feedback on his research. What unfolded over the course of the week was a rich exchange of ideas, methodologies, and perspectives.

From the outset, Károly approached the visit with curiosity, openness, and professionalism. His preparation was meticulous; prior to his arrival, he had researched potential discussion partners, shared clear information about his research interests, and worked with me to build a full week of academic conversations and learning opportunities. This forethought meant we were able to make the most of his time with us, maximising both structured and serendipitous moments of insight.

During his stay, Károly presented his doctoral research to the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Subject Group.  The first presentation of his research outside Hungary. The feedback he received from colleagues in entrepreneurship, coaching, and higher education pedagogy, was constructive, collegial, and positively framed. One particularly fruitful interchange connected Hungarian football history and coaching philosophy to broader questions of national entrepreneurial identity and learning, an interdisciplinary link that Károly is now considering as a distinctive element of his thesis.

His interactions extended beyond formal presentations. Károly observed a practical MBA class on consultancy and was struck by the level of engagement and international diversity in the room. He noted the striking similarities between Hungarian and UK approaches to mentoring and tutoring in higher education, an insight that both validated his own practices and opened space for comparative inquiry.

Our mutual interest in entrepreneurial education and threshold concepts formed the intellectual glue of the visit, but Károly’s openness also led to valuable conversations with colleagues across a variety of domains. His meeting with Dr. Amy Stabler, a coaching expert, may spark future research into the intersections of entrepreneurship and coaching in higher education, a theme with both academic and practical resonance.

For Newcastle University Business School, visits like this showcase the inclusive, intellectually vibrant, and globally connected ethos we strive to embody. They are also vital to our reputation as a high-ranking global player, welcoming scholars, sharing knowledge, and seeding future research partnerships. The feedback we received from Károly affirmed that we are seen internationally as open, rigorous, and genuinely interested in academic exchange.

Personally, this visit was a source of professional pride for me. It demonstrated the value of investing time and care into the facilitation of meaningful academic connections. As I look ahead to my own academic future, I reflect on how leadership in fostering international collaboration is not only personally rewarding but strategically important for the university, our students, and the wider academic community.

This visit was only a week long, but its impact will resonate much longer, for Károly, for our School, and for the relationships and ideas it helped nurture. I look forward to welcoming him again, post-PhD, and to continuing to build Newcastle University Business School’s reputation as a hub for globally engaged, future-focused research and education.