INTERVIEW
It’s the role of the Business Schools and their faculty to serve as a filter of the most useless ideas and an emergency break for the most dangerous ones
may find ways to use technology to get even more value from classroom sessions. The initial step was to move the classroom to Zoom, the next step will be to design programmes that integrate technology and teaching in new ways. I like to compare our situation to online banking, where the first step was to move some services from the bank teller to an online channel. This was decades ago, and it was only much later that service providers started experimenting with online services; we’re only just seeing some entirely novel applications. As Business Schools, many of us are at the first stage, while some have started to move beyond it. In 2018, we discussed the international approach Aalto takes to its MBA programme. As globalisation and consumerisation have become trends in business education, how has your strategy changed? We still believe wholeheartedly in a better world through better leadership, as our slogan states, and continue value our international programs and partnerships. Our strategy focuses on leveraging the unique strengths of Aalto University to have a global impact. We know that the impact a single institution can have – especially one coming from a rather small home market – is dependent on the partnerships we have around the world. We partner with others to deliver programmes in different locations and to engage the best faculty. For us, being international is built into our DNA, and we shy away from looking
at topics as being either domestic or international, as for us they are always both. Considering the importance of lifelong learning, what is your strategy for enabling continuing learning among your alumni? We’re constantly developing new ways to engage with our alumni, as well as those who are not yet part of any of our programmes. Lifelong learning is about finding ways to connect with people throughout their careers. Our participants don’t have episodic or linear careers; rather, their careers have become more splintered and ambiguous. The role of a Business School can’t be limited to the start of their career (undergraduate studies) or to a pivotal point mid-career (post-graduate studies). We must be able to have relevant and valuable interactions with our people at various points throughout their careers. Those interactions can sometimes be entire MBA programmes or, indeed, much shorter; for example, in the form of a symposium on the most current developments in a subject area tailored for alumni. How important is sustainability, and in what ways have Schools innovated in this area? Sustainability is a cornerstone of Aalto University’s strategy and central
to everything we do in the MBA programmes. Personally, I think
sustainability and climate issues need to be present in all our content. We are
30 |
Ambition | BE IN BRILLIANT COMPANY
Made with FlippingBook - Share PDF online