Kuwait water challenges: Building a research agenda for policy impact and student experiential learning

Abstract

This paper describes the development of a research agenda in the College of Business and Economics at the American University of Kuwait. One driving factor for developing an agenda is the need to satisfy AACSB requirements. AACSB encourages strong development of students' analytic and decision-making skills, as well as a reasonable level of “scholarly contributions.” Action research and experiential learning methods are well-suited to achieve these goals. The research agenda was developed around the subject of “water,” and was accordingly constructed to integrate themes from the entire supply chain, from raw materials to consumer consumption and use of water. The projects in the agenda are usually conducted as part of the interaction with government entities and private organizations having any association with the subject of water.