Evelyn in a Global Corporation

Abstract:

Evelyn is a learning design professional in Argentina. She studied at the Universidad de Buenos Aires to become a certified translator. She is also a faculty member at the Universidad de Buenos Aires, where she teaches as an adjunct instructor and at times collaborates with other faculty members conducting research. In addition to her undergraduate studies, Evelyn completed a two-year master’s program in pedagogy. Due to her fluency in both English and Spanish as well as her knowledge of pedagogy, she transitioned to a role in learning design, working at a global corporation with headquarters in Houston, Texas, with clients all over the world. In her interview, Evelyn emphasized openness to learning, creativity, and teamwork as vital competencies for instructional designers. 

As an instructional design manager, also, I have one-on-one meetings with my instructional designers. They tell me about their agendas and the projects they are working on. Then we have some brainstorming sessions. I consider myself a very creative person. If they get together with the client and have a specific training need, they [the client] want something out of the box. They want something that is not the typical solution. Instead they are trying to find something new or something different. That is when we get together and have maybe a short brainstorming session. I tell them about other projects that we have made because I, as an instructional design manager, have my eyes on all the projects that we develop. Maybe we have done something for another client, and that solution worked well. Maybe we can leverage some of the things from that solution and apply them to this one. I like to call it or refer to it, as a source of inspiration. I give them options! Or, maybe I can say: What if we combine these two things and we have this other new stuff or something?

Her role includes managing client relationships, resolving project challenges, and mentoring team members. Key takeaways from this chapter highlight the importance of strong writing skills, proficiency in emerging technologies, and adaptability to cultural differences. As a leader, Evelyn advocates for instructional design innovation and collaboration across diverse teams.

Another important competency is their commitment, because of the way we work. We tell them [our instructional designers] that we do not expect them to know everything. But we want our instructional designers to be willing to learn. Therefore I need them to be committed to their product(s) or to what they are doing. I always tell them: each process and each project has its own constraints and limits. Perhaps it has to be ready in two weeks and you cannot create a piece of art (in two weeks). So, I get that. But, it is that commitment with what you do that in the next opportunity you will try to do something different, something better. I hate these misconceptions around e-learning: e-learning is boring or e-learning does not teach. These misconceptions exist, in part, because of how we do our work [as instructional designers]. Because we do e-learning as an additional bullet in our checklist. We are teaching and we are working, so I need to feel that commitment and that passion that at the end of the day we have for what we do. 

Romero-Hall, E. (2025). Learning Designers in Context: Examining Practices Across the Global South. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003270591

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