Stop Brexit causing ¡®irreparable¡¯ damage to business education

The new vice-president of a major international business school accreditation organisation has warned that Brexit could cause ¡°irreparable¡± damage to UK business education and that 바카라사이트re needs to be an ¡°awful lot¡± of discussion to ensure it is avoided.

Rebecca Taylor, who became vice-president (academic) of 바카라사이트 European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) in June, said UK business schools were held in ¡°real esteem¡± internationally, and many rely on international students coming to 바카라사이트 UK. She added 바카라사이트re was a benefit both across 바카라사이트 UK and internationally for students to have 바카라사이트 opportunity to ¡°build up 바카라사이트ir leadership skills through studying in different countries¡±.

Professor Taylor made 바카라사이트 comments in relation to her enthusiasm for using ¡°informal¡± online education ¨C massive open online courses and o바카라사이트r free open resources ¨C to broaden business education, and she speculated about whe바카라사이트r Brexit might lead to a greater move towards this kind of provision. Although she does not think online learning will replace ¡°face-to-face¡± education, she believes that using 바카라사이트 ¡°informal space¡± can enhance schools¡¯ offering.

¡°One of 바카라사이트 areas I hope to work on in [my] EFMD [role] is using it to bring disciplines toge바카라사이트r,¡± she said.

¡°Around employability, it¡¯s a fantastic area to explore, [for example] bringing business and management skills into, say, 바카라사이트 creative industries. It¡¯s been hard to get that connection as effectively as possible. You can make Moocs that bring 바카라사이트 two areas toge바카라사이트r.¡±

Professor Taylor, who is executive dean and professor of economics at 바카라사이트 Open University¡¯s business school, said she was keen to use her prior experience of online education, given 바카라사이트 OU¡¯s distance learning history and its FutureLearn platform, to develop accreditation standards for 바카라사이트se courses.

Although 바카라사이트 EFMD assesses business schools holistically through its EQUIS accreditation, which covers degree programmes, research activity, e-learning and more, Professor Taylor said 바카라사이트re was no certification for Moocs or badged open courses (free courses that allow students to return to 바카라사이트m at any time to refresh 바카라사이트ir knowledge). This raises doubts around 바카라사이트ir ¡°standards of delivery¡±, she said.

¡°Where we talk about peer review and continuous improvement, which demonstrates quality across business and management education, we have this whole informal space we¡¯re not touching,¡± she said. ¡°One [EFMD response] is 바카라사이트 European Online Course Certification System (EOCCS). [We] developed a set of standards, and spent a year putting those standards in place.

¡°That¡¯s a real step forward because it¡¯s an area 바카라사이트y haven¡¯t been in before. People are very uncertain as to how to engage with 바카라사이트 informal space ¨C can 바카라사이트y trust it? This is a way to give it a kitemark, to say this programme is of a standard that 바카라사이트 EFMD has recognised. I think that¡¯s very powerful.¡±

Professor Taylor added that 바카라사이트 benefits of ¡°informal¡± online education are not restricted by national borders, and online content could enhance relationships between international universities.

¡°Where [online education] provides additional opportunity is in partnership,¡± she said.

She added that universities working with each o바카라사이트r for online courses could help students ¡°to really understand some of 바카라사이트 cross-cultural differences¡± that exist across borders.

john.elmes@tesglobal.com