The Future of Business Schools
February 25, 2014
Madrid, Spain.
Clay Christensen, the Harvard guru of disruptive innovation, and Thinkers 50 World’s #1 Business Thinker, says that education is perhaps the last sector to be disrupted. But the world of business education is changing rapidly. As people evolve from life-long careers in companies, to a career of 4-5 different “phases” then rethinking and retraining becomes the norm throughout our lives. The average age of b-school attendees will move from 27 to 47 over the next decade.
Add to that, most businesses prefer applied learning, addressing real issues, and building teams not just talented individuals through what the school’s call in-company executive education. What they really want is enlightened consulting. Help in seeing the future, thinking different, inspiring their people, whilst also addressing their biggest challenges and opportunities, ready to make them happen. Yes it needs to be practical, but with better ideas and strategies too.
The third dimension is technology. MOOCs (massive open online courses) offered by Coursera,EdX and others have risen as a way in which b-school courses can be turned into online self-learning experiences, and accessible to anyone in the world. The business model and quality standards are still emerging. Perhaps most exciting is the blended learning. Let people learn the text books, case studies, and get the toolkits online, but then use the physical formats (inspiring events, fast incubators, facilitated networks) to bring people together with heads up, fusing their ideas and insights, to see the future.
IE Business School gets this. The Madrid-based b-school, already big in South America, Middle East and Europe, has transformed itself into a future school, and is ranked by Bloomberg and FT as the #1 business school in Europe. I’ve just recently agreed to join them as a Visiting Professor of Strategy, Innovation and Marketing with an agenda to develop new thinking, new programs and new leaders in those three areas. We’re developing a fantastic new portfolio of content and formats, available to companies anywhere in the world.
Download the brochure for “Gamechangers” program with IE Business School
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