Designing an Experiential Introduction Week in the FT MBA Program

Grant program: Teaching and Learning Development Grant (TLDG)

Grant recipient: Lieke ten Brummelhuis, Beedie School of Business

Project team: Brett Trainor, research assistant 

Timeframe: October 2020 to October 2021

Funding: $5,000

Course addressed: Full-Time Masters of Business Administration 2020/2021 cohort

Description: For this project, I would like to implement a new two-week introduction for the FT MBA program, beginning in September 2022. The key component of this introduction is a 4 to 5-day outdoor expedition during which students solve various team challenges. This expedition has been developed and implemented by Hannes Leroy, Associate Professor in Management at Erasmus University Rotterdam (leadership content) in collaboration with Bold expeditions (outdoor component). Together with Dr. Leroy and Bold, we will design a more moderate version of the expedition that is inclusive for students with a variety of abilities and needs, and is more suitable for an introduction week that has a focus on cohort bonding.

References: Hannes Leroy, Associate Professor in Management at Erasmus University Rotterdam in collaboration with Bold expeditions. https://www.bold-expeditions.com/

Questions addressed:

• What is leadership identity improvement in currently offered leadership courses?
• How do students evaluate an option to work on unique leadership development in an additional course?
• What are students’ attitudes regarding an outdoor leadership expedition?
• At what level of outdoor challenge (camping, lodge, remote area) are students will to participate?
• What duration of expedition (3, 4, 5 days) are students willing to participate?
• What payment plans (higher overall tuition, cutting international trip, extra course contribution) are acceptable for students?

Knowledge sharing: 

• We plan to expand the leadership expedition to other Beedie programs, in particular the MSc in Finance, and possibly the EMBA and MSc in Management. 
• A presentation about the leadership expedition formats and how students approach the expedition will be presented to the academic directors.
• Other options for knowledge sharing I aim for include presenting the results of phase 1 to Beedie’s annual teaching and learning luncheon to share insights with faculty, students, and staff and presenting the results at a conference for teaching and learning (e.g., Academy of Management Learning and Education)