MBAs Need to Stay Relevant with Life-Long Learning
New top-ups and learning packages keep business graduates’ knowledge up-to-date
By Jonathan Moules
When the Association of MBAs, the accreditation body for postgraduate management education, gives its approval to a business school’s MBA programme, it does so for a maximum of five years. But when that same business school awards one of these degrees, it is for life.
This does not make sense, according to Bodo Schlegelmilch, who is both chair of AMBA and a professor of international management and marketing at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. He is involved in both assessing schools and teaching masters degree students.
“There is a good reason why we don’t accredit schools for life, because business education changes every few years,” he says. “We [at AMBA] believe that business schools need to change their business model.”
Professor Schlegelmilch argues for a new MBA business model, in which the degree is “rented” rather than owned by students.
Subscription business models, such as car clubs and music streaming services, have made it a smart, easy choice to rent the things we used to own, Prof Schlegelmilch says. It would not, he thinks, take a great leap to apply…
