IN PRAISE OF COLLABORATION When attempting to stand out from the crowd, should business school leaders criticise and belittle their competitors? Or should they laud them, learn from them and co-operate for mutual advantage? Stephanie Mullins-Wiles weighs in on the debate R enowned Paris-based business school Insead has just launched the world’s largest XR immersive learning library for management education and research. This has made it possible to bring virtual reality (VR) learning to classrooms around the world; it opens up VR to institutions that might
sustainability in MBA programmes, for example, would be likely to include at least three spokespeople from different schools in order to provide readers with a wider story. This would probably be a mix of senior faculty, such as programme directors, as well as members of the student body. Trend stories are popular with some of the world’s most respected media, particularly the Financial Times for its special reports. Alone, schools attempting to attract the attention of writers at such esteemed titles might find their outreach overlooked. By taking steps to collaborate with peers and pointing out the aspects of their offerings that follow a similar style or tap into a growing area of interest, institutions stand a better chance of securing meaning impactful media coverage. For business schools to benefit from such excellent visibility, conversations should be had between the likes of deans, senior leaders and communications or marketing professionals across institutions in order to identify trends and share examples. These trends can then be pitched to key journalists and editors as important and timely stories. Some institutions can proactively do this themselves, others choose to work with external agencies that offer in-depth knowledge of the market and benefit from this perspective by identifying newsworthy trends. As a result, not only do such institutions stand a better chance of being noticed by writers, but they often retain a degree of control too. By choosing the company they keep they can benefit from other institutions’ reputations – perceived as part of a collective of industry leaders. In PR, we call this the ‘halo effect’. Not only this, but in identifying those common threads between them, institutions can take a more active role in shaping the wider discussion across the business school sector, rather than simply reacting to it. Attracting the attention of the right media Another key example can be found when trying to draw wider attention to recent faculty appointments, or raising the profile of existing staff. Take, for instance, the arrival of a new dean. On its own such news might make the News in Brief section of a newsletter in relevant business and
not otherwise have the financing, resources or expertise for it. Then there are collaborative initiatives such as the Future of Management Education Alliance (FOME). This is a cluster of business schools that made waves both in the sector and across the media, with the launch of a multi-school alliance designed to further educational excellence by combining expertise on an innovative, digital platform. Launched by Imperial College Business School in collaboration with ESMT Berlin, BI Norwegian, SMU Singapore and Edhec, as well as Ivey and Melbourne business schools, FOME spans multiple continents but prioritises offering the highest quality content via a technologically savvy platform. This was made available to a global network of students at a time before the pandemic normalised the concept of online, flexible learning. As with Insead’s library, the schools understood the benefit to be gained by allowing expertise to be shared beyond their own physical walls. Yet it’s harder to see such openness and collaboration when it comes to how business schools promote themselves. In terms of PR and marketing efforts, some institutions shy away from working with their peers. In an industry where competition is fierce and it becomes vital to stand out to global applicants, there is often a fear of being seen as too similar, or even inferior to the other institutions you are rubbing shoulders with – in fact, there can be a distinct reluctance to even mention other institutions. It can, however, be a huge benefit for business schools to work together to jointly promote themselves and their programmes. Forming alliances for promotional purposes It’s important to understand that journalists often like to cover trends – and establishing a trend requires a journalist to be able to cite more than just one example. A reporter covering the growing inclusion of
48 | Ambition | MARCH/APRIL 2024
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