Previous Jams

June 2018: China

Business Education Jam: China 2018 was held in Shanghai, China in collaboration with:

The Business Education Jam: China 2018 was the third in a series of regionally focused dialogues to occur around the globe and specifically focused on the development, challenges, and opportunities for business education in China.

The symposium was co-hosted by Prof. Xiongwen Lu, Dean, School of Management, Fudan University, and Prof. N Venkatraman, David J. McGrath Jr. Professor in Management & Professor Information Systems, Boston University Questrom School of Business, and attracted leading guests on site in Shanghai and was watched globally through a live stream. Initial findings from this engaging dialogue will be ill be posted soon.

May 2018: Africa

Business Education Jam: Africa 2018 was held in Tanzania in collaboration with

The second in a series of regionally focused dialogues to occur around the globe, Business Education Jam: Africa 2018 was held May 20, 2018 at the Coral Beach Hotel Dar Es Salaam through a partnership with the AABS Connect Conference 2018 & University of Dar es Salaam Business School.

This event had two primary elements: an edX EDGE course which provided perspective on critical issues and an engaging discussion live in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. The informative dialogue was co-hosted by Dr. Howard Thomas, Ahmass Fakahany, Distinguished Visiting Professor of Global Leadership at Boston University Questrom School of Business, Dr. Nicola Kleyn, Dean, Gordon Institute of Business Science; and Dr. Diana Philemon, University of Dar es Salaam Business School.

November 2017: Africa

Business Education Jam: Africa 2017 was held in collaboration with

On November 7, 2017 participants joined together at the at the Gordon Institute for Business in Johannesburg, South Africa for a one-day symposium on reimagining business education in Africa. Co-hosted by Howard Thomas, Ahmass Fakahany, Distinguished Visiting Professor of Global Leadership at Boston University Questrom School of Business, and Morris Mthombeni, Executive Director: Faculty & Lecturer, Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), this interactive session added new insights on the challenges and opportunities for management education in Africa. These insights then launched a global brainstorm through the edX platform.

Watch an archive of the symposium here.

Management Education in Africa

The African continent is a world of opportunity – and challenge – for management education. A complex landscape of 54 very different countries, over one billion people call Africa home speaking 2,000 languages and representing 3,000 ethnic groups. The global challenges for management education are known, including those highlighted in the original Jam. Can emerging global solutions succeed in the unique environments across Africa?

Consider this:

Governments dominate. And there are a lot of them. Regulation of industry – including education – is extensive, and academic programs are influenced from well beyond the walls of the academy.

Student competency varies extensively. Looking through history, colonial rule drove various educational systems across Africa, creating wide gaps in attainment.

Diversity must be considered. The diverse environment of the African content is critical including the colonial legacy, apartheid, and issues surrounding faith, gender, and poverty.

Infrastructure is unreliable. While development within some cities is advance, across the continent there exists inconsistencies in the reliability of roads, electricity, and internet access.

Solving the management education challenges in Africa are not simple. They must be low-cost and overcome infrastructure deficits to reach populations. They must recognize the unique faculties of African business schools. And they must aspire to further the development of a continent that has enormous potential. To foster solutions, we are taking the business education jam local.

Learn More About the First-Ever Jam

From September 30–October 2, 2014, Boston University Questrom School of Business, in collaboration with IBM and premier sponsors, launched the Business Education Jam: Envisioning the Future. The Jam was a massive online brainstorm that sparked ideas, concepts, and collaborations on how to close the growing gap between industry and academia. Over 60 consecutive hours, thousands of people around the world—researchers, scholars, students, thought leaders, and executives—united in a unique virtual environment to revolutionize the future of business and business education.