PNW Instructor Pat Obi Shares Global Lessons on Lithuania Trip

Purdue University Northwest White Lodging professor of Finance Pat Obi, foreground center right, takes a group picture with the senior leadership of Lithuania Business University of Applied Sciences during a guest lecture trip in October.

White Lodging professor of Finance Pat Obi returned to the Lithuania Business University of Applied Sciences in Klaipėda for his second time in October to deliver guest lectures for European audiences.

Through a European Union (EU)-sponsored trip, Obi delivered several presentations to faculty as well as American, Canadian, and European students studying under the Erasmus+ program, an EU-sponsored foreign exchange and study abroad program.

Obi gave two research presentations on the pandemic’s impact on global financial markets, and gave a comparison of financial performance between U.S. and EU banks since Basel III, a set of supervision and regulatory measures introduced for banks following the financial crisis of the late 2000s. Daily presentations on managerial finance were delivered for Erasmus+ students.

Obi delivered a finance management course for students studying finance-related programs. The course was broken down into determining the value of a business, how to measure business performance, and determining the risks a business may face in a global environment.

“I have designed the course so that each of them has the opportunity to understand that the success of a business lies in sound financial management,” Obi said in Vakarų ekspresas, a newspaper based in Klaipėda. “It must also reflect today’s realities: globalization, sustainability, political and cultural differences, the challenges of diversity and gender equality, and more. Choosing to ignore any of the issues would be detrimental to the business and its financial success.”

Obi was also a past participant for a teaching workshop in Lithuania, but this time around was the leader. He credits his Lithuanian opportunities as the cornerstone of his international teaching circuit. He’s since gone on to teach in 65 countries, 20 of which he is still a visiting professor in.

“It has helped me develop certain skills that have allowed me to develop as a teacher, lecturer and even earn a number of awards at my university and elsewhere,” Obi was quoted. “In each state, I adapt the workshops to local issues, cultural differences, so that all the information is close, understandable and clear to everyone. In this workshop, I review the key things that can help create effective and successful teaching.”

In teaching on a world scale, Obi says the best thing it gives him is “inner satisfaction.”

“I realized that the greatest satisfaction you can feel in life is when you see that the person you have contributed to is lucky in life. That is my mission. First of all, I am not a teacher, but a mentor – I want to be an example, I want to inspire, encourage, support.”