{"id":12800,"date":"2026-04-23T13:24:30","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T13:24:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/germin.org\/?p=12800"},"modified":"2026-04-23T13:27:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T13:27:06","slug":"diaspora-expertise-in-action-prof-valentina-ndous-collaboration-with-prof-blerta-dragusha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/germin.org\/sq\/diaspora-expertise-in-action-prof-valentina-ndous-collaboration-with-prof-blerta-dragusha\/","title":{"rendered":"Diaspora Expertise in Action: Prof. Valentina Ndou\u2019s Collaboration with Prof. Blerta Dragusha"},"content":{"rendered":"

Diaspora Expertise in Action: Prof. Valentina Ndou\u2019s Collaboration with Prof. Blerta Dragusha, faculty of economy, University of Shkoder to Advance entrepreneurship and Innovation in Finance Education<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Albania\u2019s higher education system is under increasing pressure to prepare graduates not only with disciplinary knowledge, but also with the entrepreneurial, digital, and innovation-oriented competences required by a rapidly changing economy. In this context, diaspora expertise can play an important role in helping universities refresh curricula, introduce new pedagogical approaches, and strengthen connections with industry. GERMIN has highlighted this model through recent stories of diaspora-resident academic collaboration in Albania. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A teaching and innovation collaboration led by Prof. Valentina Ndou, as diaspora academic, and implemented together with Prof. Blerta Dragusha at the University of Shkoder \u201cLuigj Gurakuqi,\u201d represents a concrete example of this approach in action. During the 2025\u20132026 academic year, the collaboration focused on the Corporate Finance<\/strong> course offered in the Master of Science in Finance and the Master of Science in Accounting, with the aim of making the course more practice-oriented, innovation-driven, and responsive to the challenges of digital transformation in the financial sector. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The revised course was designed not simply to transmit financial knowledge, but to expose students to a broader set of competences connected to entrepreneurship, design thinking, innovation management, and the application of Artificial Intelligence in finance. The updated syllabus integrated themes such as entrepreneurial competencies, business planning, Business Model Canvas, and design thinking in finance, with the broader objective of guiding students toward a deeper understanding of how innovation can be financed, structured, and scaled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the main issues this collaboration sought to address was the persistent gap between classroom learning and the real needs of the financial sector. To respond to this challenge, the course introduced a project-based and challenge-based learning model. In November, an Open Innovation Challenge in the Finance Sector<\/strong> brought together students and representatives of local banks, creating a space where academic learning could directly engage with real-world industry problems. According to the course documentation, the initiative asked student teams to develop innovative and financially sustainable business solutions to concrete enterprise challenges, supported by academic supervisors and company mentors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was not a purely theoretical exercise. Students were exposed to practical problems related to digital transformation, operational efficiency, customer engagement, financial inclusion, and the adoption of emerging technologies in banking. The guiding materials prepared for the course framed these opportunities very clearly, highlighting areas such as fraud detection, alternative credit scoring, financial education, compliance, remittances, SME cash-flow management, and AI-supported financial inclusion in Albania and the Western Balkans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A further milestone of the collaboration was the Final Presentation and Pitch Workshop, <\/strong>held on <\/strong>13 February 2026, which marked the culmination of the students\u2019 project-based learning journey. Students were organised into 11 teams and developed project ideas centred on the use of AI in the finance sector. Their proposals ranged from AI solutions for operational efficiency in banks, to chatbots for customer service, to more inclusive financial services for older adults, people with disabilities, and underserved groups. The use of the Business Model Canvas gave students a structured way to articulate value propositions, customer segments, key resources, costs, and revenue logic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Projects were evaluated by a distinguished jury composed of representatives from academia, industry, and innovation ecosystems:<\/p>\n\n\n\n