Dr. Janczak selected for Faculty Mobility for Partnership Building Program

Dr. Sergio Janczak, Professor of Cross-Cultural Management and Entrepreneurship in the School of Management, Economics, and Mathematics (MEM), has been chosen for the 2025- 26 Faculty Mobility for Partnership Building Program (FMPBP).

The FMPBP is a scholarship initiative from Global Affairs Canada to support Canadian faculty to do short-term research and/or teaching in Latin America and the Caribbean. It also supports new and existing partnerships between Canadian institutions and the host institution.

Dr. Janczak’s project, "Translational Knowledge in Action: Building Community-Centred Services through Canadian-Brazilian Academic Collaboration," aims to strengthen the partnership between King’s and Brazil’s Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), a collaboration that began with a 2020 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The project focuses on expanding faculty and student exchanges and creating lasting academic connections between the institutions.

Dr. Janczak will use meaningful academic and professional discussions to build stronger connections and collaboration between the institutions.

Working alongside Professor Eduardo Giugliani from PUCRS, Dr. Janczak sees this project as a natural extension of their shared goal to uplift communities through academic and practical solutions. The initiative will turn research into actionable solutions, supporting local start-ups, social enterprises, and marginalized groups.

The project will be built on three fundamental pillars: alliance cultivation, scholarly communication, and doctoral guidance, with several strategic undertakings involved:

• The Building of a Lasting Academic Partnership: This will include creating frameworks for knowledge exchange and joint academic projects to tackle both current and future challenges.
• Scholarly and Community Outreach: Collaborative research will directly benefit local communities, with faculty and students working on projects with real-world applications.
• Doctoral Education and Mentorship: The project will offer Ph.D. candidates seminars and guidance to enhance their research and ensure its practical impact on communities.
• Enhanced Mobility and Exchange Program: A key aspect of the project is increasing faculty and student mobility, which will deepen cultural understanding and broaden academic perspectives.
• Joint Funding Ventures: New funding sources will support ongoing research and educational initiatives.

Dr. Janczak explains that “this structured approach guarantees that the partnership not only propels academic interchange but also yields measurable benefits to the communities it engages.”

As a professor at King’s, Dr. Janczak will be able to interact with administration and academic staff on campus, leading to increased engagement and collaboration. He will also have immediate access to resources and personnel needed to advance the research, and actively engage in the educational activities integral to the project’s success.

The next steps in the project will ensure the ability to meet objectives effectively and sustainably. Details and logistics will be finalized, deepening the partnership framework between King’s and PUCRS. Dr. Janczak expects that will likely include workshops and meetings to define objectives and expectations and establish clear communication channels.

The FMPBP is a scholarship initiative from Global Affairs Canada to support Canadian faculty to do short-term research and/or teaching in Latin America and the Caribbean. It also supports new and existing partnerships between Canadian Institutions and the host institution.

Dr. Janczak is the second King’s faculty member to be successful in an FMPBP competition. Last year, Dr. Kristin Lodzinski, Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology, was selected for the Faculty Mobility for Partnership Building Program (FMPBP) 2024-2025. Her project built on her extensive research with Jamaican agricultural workers in the Niagara area who participate in Canada’s Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP).