INTERVIEW
Would you say that it’s important for schools to tailor a personalised experience for each student and, if so, how does Milpark provide this personalisation? “Tailoring a personalised experience for each student is an essential balancing act. On the one hand, you need to create an environment for creative individualism to manifest and personal needs to be met. On the other hand, you need to create a collective experience to simulate life and the world of work. That means that an integrated approach to crafting the learning experience is important within the obvious parameters of learning objectives, outcomes and timeframes of the programme. “At Milpark we don’t think of students as being simply ‘consumers’ of our educational journeys, but rather as ‘collaborators’ and ‘co-creators’ of their learning journey. Milpark’s online learning journeys offer a blurring of physical and time-based campus boundaries. Alongside the specified synchronous engagements and set dates for assessment submission, students interact with content (prescribed and recommended reading) and activities (online discussion forums) at their own pace and location. “As far as student engagement is concerned, we aim to connect students’ learning with their jobs, lives and aspirations through activities that provide them with the purpose and motivation to gain new knowledge and skills. In this way, students see themselves as both participants and contributors in the learning process. Furthermore, lecturers endeavour to get to know each student’s interests and preferred learning styles
“As an academic researcher: to continue my research focus on leadership cognition, mental modalities and neuroplasticity to enact peak leadership performance. For instance, I have embarked on a research project to develop a relational framework of practical wisdom, flow state and intellectual character for leading in turbulent times. This project would then serve to further inform our instructional design innovations.” What is your outlook on the future of business, business schools and the economy over the next three to five years? “I am optimistic – I believe we are not captives to a pre-determined set of choices; the future offers many possible outcomes. Businesses and business school leaders should therefore create pathways that enable the enactment of individual and social events to shape a preferred future in which all stakeholders will benefit. “Agreed, there are a myriad of challenges that appear overwhelming, such as humanitarian crises, political disputes, wars, environmental degradation, pollution, corruption, poverty, inequality, unemployment and so on. But we cannot plod along passively, waiting for the future to happen with a que sera, sera attitude. We must set out purposefully and passionately to co-create a future in which all stakeholders will benefit. “As theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer said: ‘Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility’. I believe that all business schools worth their salt have taken up the responsibility to do their part with passion and purpose to help create a future of socioeconomic prosperity.”
to ensure the needs of each student are met. Institutional analytics are also used to assist with this – for example, by identifying at-risk students.” What plans does your school have for the next three years and what developments would you like to see? “Some highlights of our MBA and PGDip over the next two years include introducing new elements on data science, as well as a module on the fourth industrial revolution and its implications. Then there is the introduction of a design component at the end of the learning journey to facilitate the integration of content relating to management challenges and the research project phase. Plus, the expansion of contextual management opportunities that culminate in individual research topics for dissertations and syndicate group projects. “Developments I would like to see include shifting from the conventional ‘sage-on-stage’ approach to teaching and learning towards a ‘guide-on-the side’ format that develops capable students who know how to learn, are creative, have a high degree of efficacy, apply competencies in novel as well as familiar situations and work well with others.” What are the next steps for yourself, both as a dean and as an academic researcher? “As a dean: the unabated evangelising of MBS as a learning partner of choice that empowers people to become more than they dared imagine in their business careers, professions and life, unlocking their potential through trusted, leading online learning journeys.
Biography Cobus Oosthuizen is the dean of Milpark Business School in South Africa. His research focus is on leadership cognition, with a mission to help leaders cultivate, amplify and align the requirements for producing the intellectual character needed to effectively navigate the complex, chaotic and unpredictable times we live in. Oosthuizen holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce, as well as an MBA and PhDs in entrepreneurship and leadership
Ambition | MARCH 2023 | 23
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