BU Business Education Jam Forums

The Business Education Jam will formally begin September 30th, but you can engage and shape content now. Below are ten emerging forums your feedback will shape as we collectively build a transformative dialogue. Any suggestions to refine existing questions or content? Are there key questions or themes missing? Do you have suggestions for an outside expert who could engage or lead one of the forums?

Using the comment field below, or by emailing jaminfo@bu.edu, please let us know your reaction, comments, and suggestions. Download a PDF of the Jam forums here.

Forum #1: Supporting 21st Century Competencies

Educating a global workforce
How can academia and industry collaborate to identify and support the development of critical competencies?

Today’s global economy requires a changing array of knowledge, skills, and competencies. Which competencies are needed by industry and how will academia respond to these new requirements? How will academia maintain relevance by co-innovating with industry (instead of being independent)?

Forum #2: Increasing the Value of Management Education

Opportunities across all levels of learning 
How can management education programs enhance value for students, employers, and industry?

Challenges to value are rising across all levels of education. What is the role of management education as a first or second degree? How will the emergence of specialized programs impact the MBA? How will management education change to provide increased value to stakeholders?

Forum #3: Engaging New-Generation Students & Employees

Challenges & opportunities of a millennial generation
How will industry and business education tap the unlimited potential of millennials?

Today’s innovative generation will change industry and education. How will industry attract the brightest employees and graduates to management professions? How will schools educate the millennials (born digital and living | learning social), and how will industry cultivate and retain them?

Forum #4: Cultivating Research Relevance & Rigor

Collaborative research across industry and academia 
How will management research drive insights for industry best practices?

The research landscape is changing. How can management research be better aligned to shape and influence management practice? How can research relevance be enhanced while maintaining rigor? How can academia engage thought leaders in industry as research collaborators using digital technologies?

Forum #5: Fostering Ethical Leadership

Advancing ethics, character & integrity
How can ethical leadership be fostered across business education & industry?

There is an increased focus on ethics from industry and the academy. What role should management schools and universities play in teaching ethics? What is the role of life-long learning in fostering ethical leadership? How can academia work with industry to broaden the understanding of ethical dilemmas in a global context? What is the next-generation frontier of research on ethics within management schools?

Forum #6: Cultivating Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Industry & academia collaboratively building an innovation engine
How will future entrepreneurial leaders be developed?

Innovation drives growth. What is the collective role of industry & academic in innovation and entrepreneurship? How can the next-generation of global business innovations come from industry & the academia working jointly? Could next-generation entrepreneurs emerge from management schools rather than in ‘garages’? What facets of entrepreneurship can be taught? Which are learned?

Forum #7: Driving Learning Experiences

Impactful learning across industry and education
How can business education & industry collaboratively impact student learning?

Learning today comes in many forms. How can schools enhance student engagement and their educational experiences? How can schools better collaborate to enhance student engagement with industry? How can new models of experiential learning complement traditional modes of learning in classrooms? What innovative learning experiences are occurring within industry?

Forum #8: Harnessing Digital Technology

Enhancing industry, education, and research
How will management education and research reflect the digital age?

Digital technology impacts everything. How can we research & teach with digital technologies? How will academia design management education and research activities for the digital age? How will academia work with industry to bring updated context and data to classrooms and learning/teaching methods?

Forum #9: Challenging the Business Model of Education

Responding to new demands
How will management education be positioned and funded in the future?

There exists tremendous pressure on existing business models. What is the business model for management institutions in the future? How should management institutions be funded and operated? How will institutions maintain academic independence while enhancing value for industry through relevant research? How should academia work with other stakeholders going forward (funding agencies, governments, consulting organizations, for-profit universities, online educational models, etc.)?

Forum #10: Advancing Policy & Governance

Focusing on regulation and rankings
How will policy and accreditation influence the development of business education and business?

Business, and concurrently the education of business leaders, impacts most aspects of life for people across the globe. Policy, accreditation and governance shape the direction and perception of schools and businesses and touch a myriad of areas from ethical leadership to cost/benefit relationships. A thorough understanding of the challenges and triumphs of business education and the partnerships between academia and industry will help you make informed policy decisions that will shape the future leaders in our global economy.