Building Resilience in Times of Change

Caroline Varin, CEO of a charity which is supported by Richmond, Professors Without Borders, recently hosted a conversation with Dr Carola Hieker and her students at Richmond, entitled, ‘Building Resilience in Times of Change’.  Dr Hieker, Associate Professor at Richmond, is an Advisory Board member for Professors Without Borders.

Former Richmond professor, Dr Varin said about the event, “We discussed the challenges of operating an NGO during the pandemic, and the importance of creativity, resilience, a strong team and a reactive board of trustees. I also mentioned the importance of reputation and social media.  It proved to be a great discussion.  Prowibo Online continues to be our main vehicle right now.”

Prowibo online is a new platform to facilitate guest lectures online.  The initiative follows a conference hosted by the Professors Without Borders team on ‘Teaching in the Time of Covid’, where professors were united on the positive impact of guest lecturers during the pandemic.

By providing university lecturers, Professors Without Borders aims to make first class education available for students in developing countries without the need to go abroad.   The move online will see professors volunteering their expertise in virtual classrooms in India, Nigeria or Colombia, among others.  Schools will be able to choose the topic and Professors Without Borders will deliver the teaching expertise online.

The University is supporting the work of the charity through different initiatives including student internships and co-operation on research projects, as well as providing professors in various locations around the world.