COHORT CONNECTIONS HIGHLIGHTED AT NZ ONLINE MBA’s 10TH ANNIVERSARY
SCHOOL : Otago Business School University of Otago, New Zealand
The University of Otago Business School has celebrated the 10-year anniversary of its online MBA programme with an alumni reunion. Across 25 cohorts, more than 500 students have now graduated from a programme that has ranked highly for its class experience. Reflecting on its achievements, MBA director Tony Garry highlighted the programme’s emphasis on ensuring that the online mode doesn’t detract from the qualification’s lynchpin benefit of peer-to-peer learning. “We use a blend of live online interactive workshops and real-time discussions to make the learning experience highly engaging,” Garry noted, before adding that “a cap on numbers makes the classroom experience far more personal.” Having a maximum of 28 students, he argued, facilitates collaboration. “The cohorts progress through the programme as a group, creating a strong connection and bond [between class members] and forming a tight-knit, supportive community.” For Garry, optimising this aspect of the programme is highly rewarding. “I enjoy leveraging the diversity of professional backgrounds and wealth of experience among students that do the MBA, so they get the most from sharing their experiences and learning from each other.” In line with industry trends, the programme has recently shifted its focus from individual projects to a group-learning setting with project management training and ongoing professional coaching. It has also switched delivery to Engageli, a platform designed for synchronous online classes that draws on AI to help optimise the student experience. The flagship, on-campus Otago MBA, meanwhile, celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, with a gathering to take place in November in the business school’s home city of Dunedin on New Zealand’s South Island. TBD
Academics from different disciplines at the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEN), Universidad del Desarrollo were recently brought together to discuss the role of AI in teaching and learning at a one-day workshop. The aim was to explore opportunities and challenges around the technology’s implementation into programmes and assessment, as well as to consider higher education’s alignment with the realities of today’s professional world. “Today, it is no longer optional to use AI to teach and it is clearly not optional for students to utilise it. Refusing to adopt AI to improve teaching processes or designing a course on the assumption that students don’t use the technology, therefore, simply doesn’t reflect what’s already happening in the classroom,” commented FEN dean Matías Lira. Described as an “applied work session”, the event centred on identifying how AI could enhance curricula and teaching and how schools can rethink assessment to reflect the growing availability of AI tools among students. Facilitated by the Universidad del Desarrollo’s Centre for Teaching Innovation and its Vice-Rectorate for Innovation and Development, the discussions were organised into disciplinary working groups covering the full range of the faculty’s subject areas, from marketing and management to finance, entrepreneurship and technology, with the addition of a working group focused on academic and teaching management. The event marked the first step in a new process of reflection and continuous improvement of teaching practices at the school that centres on updating its offerings and approach to match the evolving technological environment. Based in Santiago and Concepción, FEN offers a range of programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate level, as well as executive education. These include a master’s specialisation in business technology and a recently launched undergraduate degree in business and data science. EB ONE-DAY WORKSHOP EVENT FOR FACULTY EXAMINES THE WAY FORWARD IN THE AGE OF AI SCHOOL : Faculty of Economics and Business Universidad del Desarrollo, Chile
10 Ambition • ISSUE 1 • 2026
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