Abstract:

With the ever-changing nature of the global economy and market trends, the popularity of practical and professionally-oriented business programmes has grown among higher education institutions around the world. However, these programmes continue to face a multitude demands, including the challenge of bridging the “gap between theory and practice” (Datar, Garvin & Cullen, 2010) and ensuring that teaching objectives are able to keep up with the business industry and its needs. Moreover, beyond disciplinary knowledge and practical skills, accreditation bodies and employers have high expectations for graduates to be equipped with a variety of generic skills (e.g. Glen, Suciu & Baughn, 2014), such as creative thinking and problem-solving skills, in preparation for the uncertainties and dynamics of the industry environment.

As part of a project to gather cases of innovative and successful teaching practices in business higher education, interviews with renowned and award-winning instructors from institutions around the world were conducted, in which they shared details of their best practices and course designs. Including accounts from professors and lecturers from prestigious, research-intensive universities across North America, Europe and Asia, many of these approaches make use of active learning to empower students as learners and target the development of generic skills, and have been well-received by students and colleagues alike. Drawing on the findings from these interviews, this paper will showcase a select number of the collected practices, presenting the elements that make them highly effective and unique. It will also present the rationale and insights of the interviewed instructors, including their motivations and teaching philosophies that helped shaped their respective course designs, and reflect on any commonalities and trends that emerge. Finally, it is hoped that this paper can offer ideas and inspiration for others to adopt, creating greater opportunities for business educators to engage, challenge and inspire their students.

References:
[1] Datar, S., Garvin, D., & Cullen, P. (2010). Rethinking the MBA: Business education at a crossroads. Harvard Business Press, Boston, MA, USA.
[2] Glen, R., Suciu, C., & Baughn, C. (2014). The need for design thinking in business schools. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 13(4), 653-667.

Keywords:

Business education, innovative pedagogies, generic skills.