Dean Thomas Robertson of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School discussed the school’s first curricular changes in a decade as part of a recent interview with Times Higher Education (THE), saying that reform had become a necessity and that above all, MBA students today must learn to be flexible.
The Philadelphia school announced the curriculum overhaul earlier this year, with changes to include the introduction of week-long modules around the globe designed to expose students to global business issues as well as an offer to alumni to return for free classes.
“As the financial crisis came along, lecturers couldn’t walk into the classroom and pull out lecture notes from the year before. A lot of change took place all by itself,” Robertson told THE. “We hadn’t revised the curriculum in more than a decade, so it was time to look at it and think about it more fundamentally.”
As part of the new program, Wharton students will fly around the world to take part in modules designed to explore the specific business issues of different regions. This year, eight foreign modules are being taught, THE reports, including one in London based on European finance, one in India studying healthcare, one in Israel on technology and one in Brazil on energy.
Modules will be taught by Wharton’s own staff, academics from partner institutions and experienced Wharton alumni now working in business.
In the interview with THE, Robertson said that the new curriculum is focused on providing students with skills to thrive in the new economic environment and encouraging them to consider the social impact of their work. Above all, students must learn to be flexible, he said.
“At least half of (our students) will work in industries that don’t currently exist,” he told THE. “Twenty or 30 years ago the internet didn’t exist, neither did social media, bioinformatics, sustainability or green products. We have to teach a culture of innovation and we have to teach the mentality that nothing’s going to be the same.”
In recognition of the constant evolution of the business world, Wharton will also soon begin offering alumni the chance to enroll in short courses for free on subjects they may not have had an opportunity to study while obtaining their MBA or wish they had studied more thoroughly.
“When you talk to alumni 10 to 15 years out, they say they wish they’d had more in the way of (lessons on) leadership and communication, and how you deal with people,” Robertson said.
For the complete THE article, click here.
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