Ambition is AMBA’s thought leadership magazine, offering regular insights into the challenges and trends that matter most in global management education
Ambiti n The monthly magazine of the Association of MBAs (AMBA) BE IN BRILLIANT COMPANY
Issue 70 FEBRUARY 2024
Business schools honoured in AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards 2024 And the winner is…
IEDC BLED & NEXT GEN MANAGEMENT Using leadership quotient as a measure of success
GOING THE DISTANCE Leicester masters the art of teaching remotely
A HANDS ON EXPERIENCE AP conference homes in on real-world learning
AMBA & BGA BUSINESS SCHOOL PROFESSIONALS CONFERENCE 2024
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Over two days, business school professionals will come together to take advantage of extensive professional development and networking opportunities
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AMBA & BGA ACCREDITATION FORUM 2024
PRAGUE, CZECHIA, 24-25 JUNE 2024
The forum is specifically designed to help accreditation professionals at business schools that are applying for AMBA and/or BGA accreditation or re-accreditation
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Issue 70 | FEBRUARY 2024
NEWS & INS IGHT
REGULARS
EDI TOR’ S LET TER
Celebrating 25 years of Leicester University’s pioneering distance- learning MBA programme and discussing the need to embed DE&I practices in schools SPOTLIGHT ON SCHOOLS A look at the history and outlook of the recently accredited Doshisha Business School in Kyoto, Japan
FROM THE CEO
Andrew Main Wilson reflects on the success of the recent AMBA awards ceremony and gala dinner in bringing the industry together
BUS INESS BRI EF ING
The latest selection of news, initiatives and research from across AMBA’s global network features research on bolstering diversity training, stimulating economic growth, the benefits of daydreaming and promoting sustainability WINNING WAYS The winners of the AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards 2024 were revealed at a gala dinner held in London last month. Discover which business schools, students and graduates came out on top in 11 different categories
OPINION
WELLBEING Universiti Utara Malaysia’s Nazahah Rahim explains how good leadership can have a positive impact on the mental health and wellbeing of employees
Ambition FEBRUARY 2024 | 3
AMBA’s Research and Insight Centre produces a wealth of groundbreaking new research and compelling reports, citing views from MBA thinkers, practitioners, faculty and leaders from across the globe on the issues that matter most in business education Recent AMBA research has investigated business schools’ attitudes to poverty, rankings, climate change and education technology. We have analysed MBA career trajectories, graduate success in the new normal and application and enrolment figures across a spectrum of programmes, as well as employer and student perceptions of lifelong learning We also seek to collaborate with business schools and corporate partners in order to further enhance AMBA’s research offering RESEARCH AND INSIGHT: STAY AHEAD OF THE TRENDS IN BUSINESS EDUCATION
If you are interested in partnering on research,
joining one of our roundtables or focus groups to delve into the findings, or would like to share your thoughts on what topics AMBA should explore next, then please contact research@amba-bga.com
Issue 70 | FEBRUARY 2024
FEATURES
18 | CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION Olga Suhomlinova and Deborah Price reflect on the University of Leicester School of Business’ 25 years of AMBA accreditation and its pioneering role in providing a reputable, distance‑learning MBA
30 | BRAVE NEW WORLD OF BUSINESS LEADERSHIP Iedc-Bled School of Management’s Pierre Casse and Elnura Irmatova discuss the value of promoting a leadership quotient to help leaders assess their strengths and styles of management
22 | AN EDUCATIONAL EVENT The AMBA & BGA Asia Pacific Deans & Directors Conference returned recently from a four‑year hiatus imposed by travel restrictions relating to the Covid pandemic. Here we present some highlights from the three-day event held in Bangkok, Thailand
We cannot ignore the need to invent new ways of thinking or producing new concepts and abstract speculations
Pierre Casse and Elnura Irmatova Iedc-Bled School of Management
Ambition | FEBRUARY 2024 | 5
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EDITOR’S LETTER
A champion EFFORT
EDITORIAL Head of editorial Colette Doyle c.doyle@amba-bga.com Content editor Tim Banerjee Dhoul t.dhoul@amba-bga.com
Commending brilliance in education, from this year’s Excellence Awards to an impressive accreditation record
T
Art editor Sam Price Sub-editor Heather Ford
his is a celebratory issue: not only do we have a full round-up of the 2024 AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards – an event that was held in London last month and which honoured no fewer than 11 business schools and affiliated individuals – we also have a feature from the University of Leicester, which is celebrating a quarter of a century of AMBA accreditation. Faculty members Dr Deborah Price and Dr Olga Suhomlinova reflect on 25 years of the institution’s MBA programme; Leicester is a pioneer in the field of distance learning, following the establishment of the Management Centre set up in 1989 by Professor Peter Jackson. The lecturers identify a number of reasons why this mode of learning has always been such a core ingredient of Leicester’s success. They believe that it democratises the MBA degree, as it facilitates access to postgraduate study for those whose career and life commitments prevent them from undertaking a full-time, on-campus qualification. In addition, it enables the school to tap into a global talent pool, thereby creating a truly international student body that strengthens the school’s diverse and inclusive community. Diversity and inclusion were also on the agenda at our recent Asia Pacific Deans and Directors conference held in Bangkok. Jenifer Lewis of Nazarbayev University’s Graduate School of Business and Professor Sarah Kelly of the School of Business at Queensland University of Technology took part in a panel debate chaired by BGA membership and account manager Ben Maheson. Delegates heard how DE&I practices must be embedded in curricula and implemented every day, as well as how schools need to possess the humility to learn what works and what doesn’t. Enjoy the issue; we’ll be back next month with a feature on nature-positive finance, the story of a social entrepreneurship initiative in Ecuador and a timely article on how to attract and retain female talent in business schools.
Insight, content and PR manager Ellen Buchan e.buchan@amba-bga.com CORPORATE Commercial relations director Max Braithwaite m.braithwaite@amba-bga.com
Head of marketing and communications Leonora Clement
Senior marketing executive Edward Holmes
Head of IT and data management Jack Villanueva
Head of events Carolyn Armsby
HR and employer relations manager Aarti Bhasin Finance and commercial Director Catherine Walker
Colette Doyle , Editor, Ambition
THIS MONTH’S CONTRIBUTORS
Chief executive o cer Andrew Main Wilson
Executive assistant to the CEO Amy Youngs a.youngs@amba-bga.com ACCREDITATION ENQUIRIES accreditation@amba-bga.com
PIERRE CASSE
MARI IIZUKA
ELNURA IRMATOVA
DEBORAH PRICE
NAZAHAH RAHIM
OLGA SUHOMLINOVA
Copyright 2024 by Association of MBAs and Business Graduates Association ISSN 2631-6382 All rights reserved. Material may not be reproduced without the permission of the publisher. While we take care to ensure that editorial is independent, accurate, objective and relevant for our readers, AMBA accepts no responsibility for reader dissatisfaction rising from the content of this publication. The opinions expressed and advice given are the views of individual commentators and do not necessarily represent the views of AMBA. Whenever an article in this publication is placed with the financial support of an advertiser, partner or sponsor, it will be marked as such. AMBA makes every opportunity to credit photographers but we cannot guarantee every published use of an image will have the contributor’s name. If you believe we have omitted a credit for your image, please email the editor.
Ambiti n
Ambition FEBRUARY 2024 | 7
BUSINESS BRIEFING
All the latest updates from across AMBA’s global network
Ambition’ s latest selection of updates includes a new tool designed to ramp up the provision of EDI in entrepreneurship support, intriguing research into the potential benefits of daydreaming and a new plan to boost economic growth by upskilling SMEs. Compiled by Tim Banerjee Dhoul and Ellen Buchan
BOLSTERING DIVERSITY TRAINING FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP LEADERS
SCHOOL : Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa COUNTRY : Canada
“EDI is a top-of-mind concern for entrepreneurship leaders. GEET+ 2.0 is purpose-built to help leaders structure discussions and alter perceptions about EDI in the context of entrepreneurship education and training,” Orser explained. She believes that the report and tool will be useful to a wide range of those working with entrepreneur services and support, including accelerators, incubators, investment networks, chambers of commerce and social enterprise organisations. The scorecard is based on research from more than 19 countries and comprises seven components centred around EDI, including programme design, delivery and evaluation, as well as access to resources. These components can be used to identify elements of bias, establish standards and create benchmarks in relation to the status of EDI, which organisations can then adapt according to their needs. EB
A new initiative is seeking to facilitate the incorporation of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in academic and training programmes, in view of research indicating a shortfall in this area. In particular, it aims to address a lack of inclusivity in entrepreneurship support services that often hinders levels of access among under-represented groups. The Gender-Smart Entrepreneurship Education and Training Plus (GEET+ 2.0) report and assessment tool is an evidence-based scorecard designed to help education providers ensure that equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is effectively implemented into business-training curricula. It has been produced by professor emeritus at the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management Barbara Orser, in collaboration with researchers at Babson College and Johns Hopkins University.
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FEBRUARY 2024
NEWS & INSIGHT
SME INITIATIVE SEEKS TO RAISE ECONOMIC GROWTH AND WELLBEING IN PORTUGAL
SCHOOL: Nova School of Business and Economics COUNTRY: Portugal
Nova School of Business and Economics (Nova SBE) plans to increase Portugal’s GDP by two per cent in two years with a new initiative focused on upskilling small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The Nova SBE Voice Leadership initiative has been launched to address the current malaise afflicting Portugal’s SMEs and the country’s growth rate as a whole. The schools says that while SMEs make up a large portion of Portugal’s business sector, they tend to be focused on non‑tradeable goods and have little capacity to scale. The Nova SBE initiative aims to change that and kicks off with an 18-month management programme for SMEs in April 2024. The programme will feature 80 hours of training, with support available from more than 200 mentors specialised in critical areas for growth and internationalisation. “This initiative is not just Nova SBE’s, it’s for everyone. It includes several partners and individuals who come together every day to participate in a
movement whose main goal is to increase the competitiveness of Portuguese SMEs, with a direct impact on the creation of value and Portuguese citizens’ quality of life,” declared associate director and CEO of executive education at Nova SBE Pedro Brito, who is also executive director of the new initiative. To help ensure progress towards its stated aim, an impact study is set to be conducted alongside the initiative’s first programme. “By monitoring and evaluating the results and performance of SMEs throughout the programme, we can ensure that they will increase their productivity and become real engines of economic growth, contributing substantially to Portugal’s development and improving everyone’s wellbeing,” explained Miguel Ferreira, an academic co-ordinator for the initiative and vice-director of teaching and research at Nova SBE. “The impact assessment will also allow us to draw valuable lessons for policymakers and civil society to develop more comprehensive and effective programmes for SMEs,” Ferreira added. TBD
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WHEN DAYDREAMING DRAWS DIVIDENDS
SCHOOL: Adolfo Ibáñez University (UAI) Business School COUNTRY: Chile
Daydreaming, also known as mind wandering – in which we stop paying attention to the tasks we are performing and get lost in our thoughts – is so prevalent that it accounts for 50 per cent of our time, according to one estimate. That’s why understanding the reasons behind this phenomenon and the value it can offer organisations is so important, says Héctor Madrid, an associate professor of organisational behaviour at UAI Business School. Indeed, far from being a problem to be eradicated, daydreaming can provide a way for employees to think outside the box and develop creative solutions, according to a study conducted by Madrid in collaboration with researchers at Washington University in St Louis. In the study’s two surveys of professionals in Chile, daydreaming was found to spur creativity. The benefit was apparent when focusing on daydreaming in which employees ruminate on challenges in their work and life, or ‘problem-oriented daydreaming’ as the study terms it. Less beneficial was ‘bizarre daydreaming’ in which people reflect on situations that would hardly, or never, occur in reality.
“Leaders at work should not necessarily penalise professionals who are digressing, because they might be incubating a change that could positively impact the organisation.” Madrid explained, in view of the results. The positive effect of problem-oriented daydreaming on levels of creativity was found to be most pronounced in those professionals who said that they highly identified with their work – ie when the type of work undertaken is a central component of a person’s definition of themselves. Conversely, when employees lacked identification with their work, the researchers observed negative relationships between both types of daydreaming and performance. The study also found that both types of daydreaming were more likely to occur in working contexts where the psychological demands are high. The reasoning here is that letting one’s mind wander is a chance to temporarily escape the pressure. The study, entitled Zoning Out or Breaking Through? , has been published in the Academy of Management Journal . TBD
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NEWS & INSIGHT
NEW MS c EMPHASISES TRENDS TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY AND CUSTOMISATION
SCHOOL: Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School COUNTRY: Hong Kong, China
CUHK Business School is now accepting applications for a new master’s degree that is focused on sustainability and the role of business in society. Aimed primarily at recent graduates and early-career professionals, the inaugural cohort of the MSc in Sustainable Global Business will start in September 2024. The programme can be taken full time in a year, or over two years part time and has been designed to put customisation at its centre. As well as being able to choose from electives that include ESG management and biotechnology, students can decide if they want their programme to have a managerial or technical focus, based on their individual needs and ambitions. They can also take classes offered on other master’s programmes available at CUHK Business School or the university’s Department of Geography and Resource Management. The move is part of a wider initiative to promote the benefits of acquiring knowledge from different disciplines to maximise students’ managerial capabilities.
Haibin Yang, director of the MSc in Sustainable Global Business and professor at the Department of Management at CUHK Business School, commented on the programme, saying: “Leveraging our strengths in interdisciplinary training, alumni networking and industry connections, we aim to nurture a new generation of high-calibre professionals who possess a holistic understanding of sustainability and are capable of leading businesses in transformative endeavours within the increasingly intricate interplay of business, environment and society.” The school believes that the programme’s launch is timely in view of the increasing need for businesses to measure and report on their ESG performance, as well as the growing impact of ecological concepts on boardroom activities and decision making. EB
SHARE YOUR NEWS AND RESEARCH UPDATES by emailing AMBA & BGA’s content editor Tim Banerjee Dhoul at t.dhoul@amba-bga.com
Ambition | FEBRUARY 2024 | 11
STRATEGY
ways
An enthusiastic audience created an a able atmosphere at the Park Plaza London Riverbank last month, as the winners of the AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards 2024 were revealed. Tim Banerjee Dhoul reports
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ROUNDTABLE REVIEW AMBA & BGA EXCELLENCE AWARDS
Clockwise from top left: representatives of the University of Bradford School of Management with AMBA Student of the Year Sonya Bachra-Byrne, pictured second from right and her partner, far right; AMBA & BGA CEO Andrew Main Wilson; guests enjoy the gala dinner; AMBA & BGA chair Wendy Loretto; the audience eagerly anticipates the results
Ambition FEBRUARY 2024 | 13
STRATEGY T There was real warmth on display as the global business school community came together to catch up on a year of achievements and discover the winners of the AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards 2024 on a cold January’s evening in London. This year, there were 11 categories in total, six of which were open to business school members of the AMBA & BGA networks, as well as five categories for individual students and graduates, including the coveted AMBA Student of the Year Award. Details of all the winners are outlined below; for a reminder of the full shortlist of finalists, please visit the AMBA website. Speaking at the gala dinner and ceremony, AMBA & BGA CEO Andrew Main Wilson talked of his pride in being able to “celebrate exceptional innovations and successes in the higher management education industry”. BUSINESS SCHOOL AWARDS BEST CULTURE, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION INITIATIVE, IN ASSOCIATION WITH BLUESKY EDUCATION Esade Business School, Spain for MBA elective: racial (in)justice
At the end of 2020, Esade became one of the first business schools in Europe to offer an elective module on racial injustice in its MBA programme. The course is an opportunity for students to face one of the most fundamental contemporary individual and societal challenges. It also encourages them to think – in practical terms – about the mindset they are fostering today, to become an inclusive leader tomorrow. BEST BUSINESS SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP AWARD, IN ASSOCIATION WITH PERLEGO This annual consultancy training week has been delivered, pro bono , by 15 Deloitte personnel to MBA students for more than 10 years. During this time, the partnership has broadened its learning, employment and research opportunities and it is now a cited reason for choosing the Birmingham MBA for 98 per cent of applicants. Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham, UK with Deloitte
Esade Business School triumphed in the Best Culture, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative category
Birmingham Business School scooped the Best Business School Partnership Award
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AMBA & BGA EXCELLENCE AWARDS
Egade Business School accepted its award for Best CSR and Sustainability Initiative by videolink
BEST CSR AND SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE, IN ASSOCIATION WITH CESIM BUSINESS SIMULATIONS Egade Business School, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico for Egade Action Week Egade Action Week is an annual multi- stakeholder and multidisciplinary engagement initiative focused on the UN sustainable development goals that launched in April 2023. It offers a space for students, alumni, professors, local government, civil society organisations, businesses and the general public to come together to discuss how business can achieve a positive, sustainable impact. The inaugural edition featured conferences, workshops and exhibitions and was attended by more than 750 people. BEST LIFELONG LEARNING INITIATIVE, IN ASSOCIATION WITH CANVAS BY INSTRUCTURE University College London (UCL) School of Management, UK for UCL MBA labs UCL MBA labs bring current students from across UCL, as well as MBA alumni, together with industry leaders to collaborate on real‑world, practical issues. Each individual lab, such as the Sustainability Lab, Analytics Lab and Digital Hack, runs its own projects, with alumni providing the network and foundation of their design by bringing their businesses back to the labs and continuing a cycle of lifelong learning. BEST INNOVATION STRATEGY AWARD, IN ASSOCIATION WITH KORTEXT Manchester Metropolitan University Business School, UK for Innovation in employability – a strengths‑based
Best Lifelong Learning Initiative went to UCL School of Management
Manchester Metropolitan University Business School picked up the Best Innovation Strategy Award
approach to personal and professional development
To enable its students to realise their career ambitions, Manchester Metropolitan University Business School has partnered with Cappfinity to produce individual skills profiles. These help students to recognise and highlight their personal strengths when developing their career plans and build confidence in their abilities. The initiative has led to a 67 per cent increase in students being ‘career-ready’ at the start of their final year.
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STRATEGY
University of Bradford School of Management MBA Sonya Bachra-Byrne was named AMBA Student of the Year
STUDENT AND GRADUATE AWARDS AMBA STUDENT OF THE YEAR Sonya Bachra-Byrne, University of Bradford School of Management, UK Sonya Bachra-Byrne won her school’s prestigious Paul Donovan Prize for Academic Excellence, attaining the highest average programme mark of 83 per cent and scoring an impressive 90 per cent for her management project. However, Bachra‑Byrne’s impact has reached beyond academia as well; through a combination of mentorship and initiating the school’s inaugural MBA summit, she has strengthened the relationships between alumni and current students, contributing to the MBA programme’s success while simultaneously running an award‑winning, sustainable start-up.
BUSINESS GRADUATES ASSOCIATION (BGA) AWARDS BGA STUDENT OF THE YEAR May Al-Amir, Eslsca University, Egypt May Al-Amir’s academic excellence, effective communication and problem‑solving skills set her apart as a true leader and contributor to the university community. The initiatives she has created, such as the introduction of Python courses, have positively impacted the educational experience for all. BGA BUSINESS SCHOOL IMPACT AWARD Eslsca University, Egypt for Eslsca’s MBA governmental programme: transforming government public officials into change catalysts This programme invests in the education and training of government officials in alignment with the university’s commitment to societal welfare, with the aim of promoting effective governance and equipping the public sector with the latest global business trends.
Clockwise from top left: the evening’s programme and menu; BGA Student of the Year May Al-Amir, Eslsca University; Egypt’s Eslsca University won the BGA Business School Impact Award for a programme aimed at training government officials
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AMBA & BGA EXCELLENCE AWARDS
The Postgraduate Leadership Award was won by UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School alumna Lorna Conn
POSTGRADUATE LEADERSHIP AWARD Lorna Conn, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, University College Dublin, Ireland In January 2022, Lorna Conn became CEO of CPL, Ireland’s largest talent solutions company, with 14,000 employees spread across 47 offices in 13 different countries. Conn was then appointed to the executive committee of CPL’s parent company – Tokyo-listed Outsourcing Inc (OSI) – in March 2023, where she is the only woman in a six-member team. In addition to her CEO role, Conn is now senior managing executive officer of OSI’s overseas technology business, overseeing operations in the UK and Oceania for a company that operates in 39 countries worldwide, has more than 250 sister companies and employs more than 130,000 people worldwide. START-UP OF THE YEAR AWARD Puneet Saini, University of Canterbury Business School, New Zealand for Script Sense Script Sense aims to alleviate the number of deaths that occur because of medicine-related errors by equipping pharmacists with advanced tools for data-informed decisions and clinical insights. It draws on cloud computing, process automation, machine learning and AI to help provide a safer and more efficient healthcare experience that mitigates prescribing errors and positively impacts patient outcomes. ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR AWARD Gaetano Lapenta, Polimi Graduate School of Management, Italy for Fybra During his executive MBA (EMBA), Gaetano Lapenta decided that he was ready to move from manager to entrepreneur and run an impactful venture, in both social and environmental terms. The idea for Fybra, a manufacturer of patented air quality products that draw on sensors and algorithms, was inspired by his daughter’s health concerns. The EMBA, meanwhile, gave him the necessary focus and tools to develop a minimum viable product, get a team together, raise funds and launch his business.
Script Sense co-founder and University of Canterbury Business School graduate Puneet Saini ( pictured right on videolink ) accepted the Start-Up of the Year Award
Polimi Graduate School of Management alumnus Gaetano Lapenta received the Entrepreneur of the Year Award
Ambition | FEBRUARY 2024 | 17
Cause for celebration The University of Leicester was one of the first universities in the UK to o er both a campus-based and distance-learning MBA,
via its Management Centre established by Professor Peter Jackson in 1989. Here, as the institution moves into its 101st year of operation,
Dr Deborah Price and Dr Olga Suhomlinova reflect on a quarter of a century of AMBA accreditation
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Looking back at 25 years of being AMBA- accredited, it is apparent that one of our priorities remains to signal the quality of our MBA programme, particularly in regard to validating the benefits of a distance-learning MBA. Distance learning has always been a core ingredient of Leicester’s success. Not only does this mode of delivery democratise an MBA degree, it also facilitates access to postgraduate study for those whose career and life commitments prevent them from undertaking a full-time, on-campus degree. Our distance-learning MBA allows us to tap into a global talent pool, creating a truly international student body that strengthens the school’s diverse and inclusive community. This in turn has a positive impact on our daily organisational strategies through the ongoing interaction with practising senior managers and leaders. Key to the relationship with our students has always been the integration of face-to-face activities – be they in a ‘brick-and-mortar’ setting or an online classroom; because of this, numerous synchronous events are built into all our core and option modules, as well as the MBA career development programme. These help us bridge the physical distance between our students, create a community and encourage our cohorts to engage and share ideas. They expose students to the challenges faced by their peers working in di erent organisations, sectors and countries and they help them to develop a sense of camaraderie and grow resilient, global networks. L
AMBA ANNIVERSARY
Masterclass provides immersive experience Our commitment to synchronous engagement aligns with AMBA’s core values and a ords us the opportunity to take a broader, ‘o -syllabus’ view of the world of work, thereby helping us to address emerging issues in business and management. To that end, we host three MBA and distance- learning-focused events annually: namely, a week- long Leicester masterclass and two weekend online and residential workshops. These complement the standard programme and curriculum, providing a more immersive learning experience, giving students the opportunity for real-time skill development and enabling us to feature topics that evolve with the times. The Leicester masterclass was originally a summer school, having been a feature of our MBA calendar for more than 25 years. Although it was threatened when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, our long history of distance-learning provision meant we had the infrastructure and expertise to replace our traditional on-campus masterclass (scheduled for August 2020), with a month-long programme of synchronous online events and activities, entitled Re-imagining management in the shadow of Covid-19 . As such, despite global travel restrictions, we were able to host more than 100 MBA students virtually, who hailed from no fewer than 39 countries and five continents. Collectively, we worked to augment our skills in leading virtual teams and we explored the organisational and societal costs and consequences of the pandemic, while students produced practical, real-world proposals, helping their companies to respond to the crisis as it unfolded. The carefully designed interactive sessions were supported by our innovative Virtual Learning Environment, which had the look and feel of a fine art gallery. Here, in search of contemporary views and opinions from research and media, our students could wander through the themed exhibitions, each of which held carefully curated collections of text, video and audio articles, expounding expert opinions on the challenges and opportunities presented by the pandemic to both organisations and society. We were proud that our 2020 Leicester masterclass epitomised our commitment to learning of the moment, in the moment. Spearheading sustainability in business The following year, the masterclass (still virtual due to ongoing travel restrictions) presented students with the Online Sustainability Challenge (OSC). As
Ambition FEBRUARY 2024 | 19
having previously considered how business responded during the crisis, our masterclass gave us the opportunity to develop our students’ thinking further, to focus on what organisations can do to contribute more widely to the societies in which they operate. Again speaking to our UNPRME commitment, the masterclass enabled students to acquire the knowledge and develop the skills involved in creating thriving social enterprises. The impact of the week of guest lectures and discussions featuring successful social entrepreneurs, networking and teamwork was palpable: several months later, one of the students reported that he had led his organisation to create an education and welfare social enterprise, which ran parallel to its day-to-day business. Several other students have also apparently worked within their organisations to develop a social enterprise arm. As an institution we pride ourselves on being Citizens of Change and our aim is to be able to use our high quality, AMBA-accredited business education as a vehicle to help make the world a better place. By focusing our masterclasses on leading through Covid-19, sustainability and social enterprise, we are taking every opportunity to develop responsible business leaders through whose efforts we can collectively influence positive global change. Honing project management skills Closer to home, we call on our MBA students and alumni to influence and help shape who we are as a school of business. Professor Adam Boddison is a Leicester MBA alumnus and CEO of the Association for Project Management (APM). Boddison is both an ardent proponent of project management and a great educationalist, having received a PhD in education. Working in collaboration with him, we devised the theme and content for our most recent MBA residential workshop, Practical project management: real world techniques for project success . Along with Dr Ian Clarkson, project and programme management practice director at tech talent and training organisation QA, and our residential workshop academic team, Boddison designed and delivered the two-day workshop. During the two days, we introduced Project Canvas, developed by Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, the author of the Harvard Business Review project management handbook. MBA students are pragmatic learners who like to collect a repertoire of adaptable tools and techniques – and Project Canvas certainly falls into this category. It structures
Brookfield House, the former residence of university founder Thomas Fielding Johnson, is now the home of the School of Business
part of our institutional commitment to the UN’s principles for responsible management education (PRME) and sustainable business, this masterclass introduced students to climate science before they collectively explored the role that businesses, and their own organisations in particular, played in both creating and remedying the climate crisis. Embedded within the masterclass was the chance for students to achieve their personal carbon literacy accreditation. Awarded by the Carbon Literacy Project, accreditation required students to commit to personal and organisational climate- positive changes. As a result of the OSC, half of the participants gained personal accreditations and several went on to spearhead global sustainability initiatives in their companies, including a tree- planting project in Uganda to reverse deforestation and the mandated inclusion of sustainability criteria in institutional investment decisions. We are very proud to report that the OSC was one of the final four shortlisted for AMBA’s Innovative Teaching Award in 2022. Moreover, this has now been rolled out to the senior leadership teams in the university and has become a core component of its MSc in sustainable futures, testament to the idea that good business education transcends disciplinary boundaries. Creating thriving social enterprises When, in 2022, the Leicester masterclass finally returned to our new School of Business campus at Brookfield, our attention turned to social enterprise. The global pandemic had had a devastating impact on widening existing social inequalities still further;
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AMBA ANNIVERSARY
Thanki has used her MBA studies to grow her company as she progressed through the programme: from utilising evidence-based management principles to developing a new recruitment process and applying strategic analysis to franchise her business. She has also built on knowledge and skills in online education, honed through her online MBA studies, to adapt her business to cope with the Covid-19 restrictions, as well as developing it further by providing motivational and well-being sessions for students to bolster learning. For her achievements, Thanki was recognised as the AMBA Student of the Year 2021 and was subsequently selected to join the panel of AMBA Global MBA Award judges. She is now a key member of the school’s Business Advisory Board and shares her expertise and knowledge with us. We endeavour to ensure our business development and engagement initiatives are designed to provide practical and lasting support for businesses, encompassing large organisations and regional SMEs as well as social enterprises. In reflecting on our successes, we are grateful for the role that AMBA has played. Over the past 25 years, the combination of AMBA accreditation and our established history of quality management education has given us the kudos and credibility to attract a high calibre of students. At the end of the day, it is our students and alumni who demonstrate the success of the MBA; they will be the ones who will lead both business and society to a brighter future.
the key elements of project management into nine neat boxes, which when printed on poster-size laminated sheets of paper allow students to work on the elements of the canvas, while keeping an eye on the bigger picture. Not only did this have an immediately apparent practical relevance, with many students telling us that they would be rolling this out within their work environment, but the student feedback was fantastic. E ective leadership requires dexterity, creativity and the ability to transfer operating models to new and unusual situations. This learning was aimed at enabling our students to see the transferable value and to explore the contextual variations of project management skills. As Boddison noted of his involvement: “The University of Leicester MBA provided me with powerful insights into myself and the world of leadership, so the opportunity to pay that forward could not be missed. It was a privilege to be involved with the workshop and ultimately, I hope project management will become a core pillar of the MBA.” Harnessing the expertise of alumni As well as working in collaboration within learning and teaching, we harness our students and alumni as members of global business communities. One of these is Mital Thanki, the founder and CEO of Spark Academy, a multi-award-winning company that provides tutoring for primary and secondary school pupils in Leicester, one of the most ethnically diverse and educationally underprivileged areas in the UK.
BIOGRAPHIES Dr Deborah Price is an associate professor in work and employment and has been the director of distance learning at the University of Leicester School of Business for six years. Dr Olga Suhomlinova is associate professor in management and director of the Leicester MBA
The masterclass programme aims to develop responsible business leaders who can help to make the world a better place
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The AMBA & BGA Asia Pacific Deans & Directors Conference took place recently in the Thai capital of Bangkok after a four-year absence due to travel restrictions caused by the Covid pandemic. Editor Colette Doyle reports on the thought-provoking proceedings An educational event
The culturally vibrant city of Bangkok was the perfect place to host AMBA & BGA’s Asia Pacific conference
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ASIA PACIFIC DEANS & DIRECTORS CONFERENCE
as it is more suited to the corporate world. Ramachandran claimed to have a lot of experience of designing and running programmes and agreed that “skills can be leveraged within the university ecosystem”. In the last question of the session, Iliev turned to technological solutions. Lubis explained that Universitas Indonesia has its own system and any online learning required by the business faculty will be offered via that same platform, although some tools may be outsourced. Butler talked about having access to “an extraordinary array of learning technology that is anchored in our objectives”. Ramachandran noted that KJ Somaiya Institute’s online programmes currently rely on edtech platforms as “they are highly specialised; they’re expensive, but work very effectively.” Capacity-building opportunities Capacity-building as a way of developing effective business school leadership was the subject of the panel discussion chaired by Steef van de Velde, professor of operations management and technology at Rotterdam School of Management. He referred to the implications for business school leadership teams in a world transitioning from VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) to BANI (brittle, anxious, non-linear and incomprehensible). He asked panellists to elaborate on what skills were required and how change could be initiated. Jorg Bley, dean of the International Business School Suzhou (IBSS) at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, replied that there was “no need to reinvent the wheel” and referenced such ERS (ethics, responsibility and sustainability) projects at his school as a carbon-neutral initiative. In addition, he advocated dedicating a leadership position to ERS to oversee the introduction of those principles to the MBA curriculum, as well as joining forces with ERS organisations in your area. Bley also recommended connecting with local chapters of the UN Global Compact’s PRME initiative. He noted that one of the primary goals of IBSS is to establish itself as a regional centre for responsible and sustainable business education. Van de Velde summarised the school’s plan of action thus: “I’m hearing that it starts with mission and intent; rallying students and partners and incentivising faculty.” Yusniza Kamarulzaman, professor and dean at Universiti Malaya, noted that “there is not just one single strategy that can be adopted”. Her school, social sciences, combines its ideas on how to move forward with the mission and vision of the university, as that is the “easiest way to get buy-in from everyone”, including older staff who, in Kamarulzaman’s view, can on occasion be harder to deal with than younger faculty members.
ifelong learning programme development was the theme of the first debate at the Asia Pacific Deans & Directors conference, held in Bangkok. According to chair George Iliev, AMBA’s strategic projects, innovation, accreditation and China director, business schools can lay claim to several “unfair
advantages”. These include customisation – in the sense of experience of working with the business world – and application – from theory to practice and application – as well as offering access to a physical campus that “helps create memories”. Raman Ramachandran, director and dean of the KJ Somaiya Institute at Somaiya Vidyavihar University in Mumbai, concurred, noting that business schools “have provided answers and solutions to existing problems for a long time”. He advocated that around 20 per cent of MBA programmes should be taught by industry experts, with capstone projects mandatory, as they are “a great way to ensure students have practical experience of real-time learning on the job”. Patrick Butler, global executive MBA director at Monash Business School, commented on how there are “so many lenses and perspectives” on lifelong learning, including “trying to retain a relationship with MBA alumni and creating an annual programme of thought leadership events”. Arief Wibisono Lubis, vice-dean of academic, research and student affairs at the Faculty of Economics and Business at Universitas Indonesia, noted how this was a relatively new area for them, so the faculty needs to adjust its operational outlook. He recounted how the university has “created a dedicated unit to deal with lifelong learning, reaching out to alumni and investing in technology”, adding “we offer constant training based on demand”. Iliev picked up on the idea of “a dedicated unit”, asking how that works between the university and the business school. Lubis explained that his department “has the authority to decide what kind of programme to design, but we will use the platform provided by the university”. He also noted that there is an advisory board with whom they are able to consult. “Inter-departmental tension” is a reality in Butler’s opinion, but he said he avoided any clash of interest by moving away from more formal programmes. “As long as we focus on the business school or MBA-specific alumni, you have a pattern and can demonstrate that it’s not confrontational”. What works, in Illiev’s opinion, is the more executive the lifelong learning programme is, the more successful it will be if based within the business school, rather than the university,
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Zhi Yang, dean of the School of Management at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, remarked on the importance of publishing academic articles. Such papers should focus on topics that will help the school to stay relevant in these challenging times noted Yang, like for instance how AI will shake up the future of business. Kamarulzaman then related how Universiti Malaya decided last year to implement open-book exams, noting that it was “a tough time to make it happen”, especially in social sciences, where “you run the risk that students might just copy [one another]”. She noted that training was provided to design exam questions – “there was lots of coaching required to make it sustainable”. Bley talked about building a team with a strategic plan and said he believes the best approach is to have it headed by a dedicated individual who acts as a single focal point, since that is “more strategic”. Ideally, they should be “a faculty member from industry with an extensive network of contacts”. Yang noted that Huazhong University has created a lifelong learning centre, not just for students but also staff. “We push students to teach cases by themselves, so they go from being passive to active learners,” he commented. Kamarulzaman then remarked on the importance of collaborating with other faculties, sharing resources and expertise. She gave the example of the marketing faculty, which previously was a pure discipline but now works with the computer science team “to elaborate more up-to-date and relevant content”. Bley advocated that schools should have an in-depth understanding of how ERS principles apply to all walks of life, including in areas such as finance. They must also emphasise the point that it is not something that “can be imposed in a top-down manner, it must come from a grassroots standpoint – you need to engage with faculty and take them with you on the journey”. Focus on practical skills & employability Another panel session again looked at capacity-building, this time in the context of practical skills and employability. Jun Qi, assistant dean at the School of Management at Jinan University, referred to her institution’s partnership with professional services multinational PWC to identify the gap between what students need and what is being taught in the field of accountancy. Xingyu Chen, vice-dean at Shenzhen University, noted that they encourage faculty to “develop flexible programmes, including innovative short courses and workshops held at the weekend, some centred around research and others based on real-life scenarios”. Qi pointed out that Jinan University is actively promoting global education, having recently launched an MBA programme in Singapore; moreover, half of its students hail from Hong Kong, Macau and other overseas destinations. She added: “Our core courses are the same [as elsewhere], but our mission is to integrate Chinese culture, emphasising that ethnic element.” Panel chair Zhongming Wang, director of the Global Entrepreneurship Research Centre at Zhejiang University’s School of Management, then touched on how important it is to
The attendees found time to socialise and network during the conference
A wide range of sessions was curated to intrigue and inspire delegates
Jorg Bley shared his ideas on those ERS projects taking place at IBSS
Steef van de Velde explored capacity- building in business school leadership
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ASIA PACIFIC DEANS & DIRECTORS CONFERENCE
With her Western ideas and background had it been hard to adapt to Kazak culture, wondered Maheson? Lewis conceded that it had been a challenge at times: “You have to work out how things play out in that environment, like a ‘safe space’ for instance, what does that look like in our classroom context?” Professor Sarah Kelly, head of the Graduate School of Business at Queensland University of Technology, remarked on the importance of policy and what she termed “walking the talk”. We must, she insisted, “embed DE&I practices in curricula, implement them every day and have the humility to learn what works and what doesn’t”. Kelly commented on the “multiple perspectives” surrounding DE&I: it has legal ramifications, as well as an ethical and moral aspect, plus there is a business case to be made for it. Future leaders “must be educated in terms of cultural sensitivity awareness”, she urged. Kelly then touched on the importance of belonging and noted that inclusion is about “feeling comfortable”. The concept of inclusion is of primary importance at Queensland given that there are “complex issues of colonialisation” in Australia and the school is committed to engaging with the “world’s oldest indigenous culture”. One example of this, pointed out Kelly, is having indigenous faculty teaching at the university who work with not-for-profit local enterprises. The school offers scholarships for both the MBA and EMBA and it also organises roundtable debates and events centred on the UN’s sustainable development goal number five, which relates to gender equality. Lewis added that her school works towards making students more confident in terms of their place within the MBA cohort; “‘I have things to offer and I belong here’ – that is the attitude that we aim to foster”. A mentorship scheme in professional development has been set up for junior faculty, which is incredibly diverse, she noted, as it is made up of some 15 different nationalities. The school’s goal is to ensure that 50 per cent of teaching staff are Kazaks; currently 85 per cent of academics come from international backgrounds. In terms of gender equality, Lewis commented on how the first question a woman may face at a job interview in Kazakhstan is often: “Are you married and when do you plan on having children?” That’s why Nazarbayev is aiming to create a “corporate community identity” to engage with organisations that are more willing to take on female employees. Kelly commented on how Queensland saw a rise in female enrolment on the MBA programme after Covid, a trend that she attributed to “the flexibility of doing a hybrid degree”. Her school advocates for students in terms of coaching sessions with external sponsors, so they are able to participate in the programme “from a variety of different perspectives”. Increasing enrolment with micro-credentials Zheng Wei, co-founder and CEO of Accredify, which creates and manages verifiable digital documents via its TrustTech technology, began his session by pointing out that the average age of an MBA
“change the mindset of faculty so they will teach new things”. Chen agreed, but added a note of caution, noting that despite the fact Shenzhen’s mission statement is to encourage change, it can be a process fraught with difficulty. According to Qi, it revolves around gaining students’ trust and building up the credibility of your school’s faculty. Wang then asked how the participants would define the concept of globalisation in management education. Qi replied by saying that the way they teach in China is “little or no different from the West” and that it is a “cross-cultural experience, teaching students to understand the global business context”. Chen talked about how the world has become “a global village” and Wang remarked that while the focus was previously on the differences separating business schools, nowadays “it is on our similarities, as we share many common goals”. Cultivating inclusive leadership Ben Maheson, BGA membership and account manager, chaired a fascinating discussion on DE&I, which examined how business schools can build a diverse leadership pipeline, create a culture of belonging and implement sustainable practices. Jenifer Lewis, vice-dean of academic affairs and accreditation at Nazarbayev University’s Graduate School of Business, explained that one of her institution’s key principles is “policy supporting practice – once you have that, everyone understands where you’re coming from”. She maintained that it “shouldn’t be a top-down effort, we actively welcome feedback from students in the areas where we can improve and students need to understand that they will be the ones to lead that transformation”.
Accredify’s Zheng Wei discussed how to attract Gen Z students to MBA programmes
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