EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
security, responsible AI, social protection, carbon markets, ESG disclosure, internal controls, poverty alleviation and other aspects of sustainability. The sessions were sequentially clustered around the ‘E’, ‘S’ and ‘G’ areas and students were required to write a reflection paper on each cluster of sessions. The final project combined a consultancy exercise and role- playing. Each student group simulated a forum through which the state of ESG and sustainability in the country is presented. Team members represented different groups of stakeholders, namely: the private sector, the government, the regulator, civil society, international multilateral organisations and an ESG consultancy firm. Each group selected an ESG topic and discussed it through the lens of the different stakeholders. The ESG consulting firm moderated the forum, with the main objective being to explore the means of enhancing ESG at a national level. Group topics included energy transition, consumerism and the fashion industry’s waste, unemployment in the informal sector, plus women’s inclusion and leadership in the workplace in Egypt, as well as corporate transparency and disclosure. Collectively, the CO-OP and Business 360 provide exceptional springboards for students advancing from the classroom to the market. The learning opportunities go far beyond the technical and functional knowledge. An invaluable, subtle advantage of these initiatives is the close interaction with leading business professionals. Such proximity is conducive to getting the feel of the thought process of business leaders, observing how they communicate their ideas and networking with potential future employers. Such programmes demonstrate how market engagement and corporate partnerships act as a powerful means for transforming management education from mere theoretical concepts on boards and slides into lived experiences, ultimately ensuring the relevance and impact of business schools.
post-hiring introductory learning and development costs. Finally, for the school, the CO-OP is an excellent source of feedback from both students and employers when it comes to student skills, curricula and teaching methods. To date, after 10 cohorts, more than 120 students have been engaged with 22 different employers. Many of the programme’s students ultimately secured jobs with their host employers, while others utilised this six-month experience to enhance their employability with alternative employers. Learning from real leaders In 2020, the school wanted to introduce an innovative course that truly mirrored two major attributes of a real- world business setting: multidisciplinarity and agility. The Special Topics in Management course was first piloted and then offered as a standalone evening course to allow for the enrolment of working CO-OP students. The general course design was based on a number of building blocks. The faculty member is more of a facilitator rather than an instructor and, ideally, the course is facilitated by faculty members from different disciplines. In addition, any student can sign up for the course, regardless of what programme they are majoring in and each session resembles a ‘talk’, featuring one or two speakers from academia and practice. Moreover, the topics address emerging trends and conversations in the market, covering multiple, often opposing, viewpoints; and the course features a market-based project with a consultancy ‘flavour’. Given the holistic nature of the course, it was branded as Business 360, reflecting the 360-degree view that it provides. Student assessment is based on reflection papers focusing on topics covered by the speakers, class engagement and a group project. Since its inception, the course has covered diverse topics related to areas such as fintech, corporate reputation, crisis management, corporate governance, circular economy and digital transformation. After several cohorts, Business 360 began to evolve into a more thematic course focusing on contemporaneous market events. The latest version of the course was titled, Environmental, Social, Governance & Sustainability: A Multi-Stakeholder Conversation. The course emphasised the multi-faceted nature of sustainability through 22 speakers from academia, the banking sector, regulators, the government, consulting firms, multinationals, non-governmental organisation and international bodies. The sessions featured a range of ESG topics such as governance in startups, cyber
Ahmed Abdel-Meguid is a professor of accounting and the CO-OP faculty mentor at AUC Onsi Sawiris School of Business. Previously, he was the associate dean for undergraduate studies and administration, chair of the Youssef Nabih Department of Accounting and MBA programmes director. He has also served as the associate provost for enrolment management at AUC
Business Impact • ISSUE 4 • 2026
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