MBA students collaborate with the world's best

Immersive, collaborative learning opportunities are a must for most, if not all, MBA students. And that’s exactly what seven University of Auckland MBA students experienced when they travelled to Brisbane to participate in the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) International Collaboration Sprint.

The October event brought together 22 MBA students from four prestigious universities across three continents: QUT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of Auckland and the National University of Singapore (NUS). This year’s theme focused on climate policy, with students working in international, cross-discipline teams to address challenges related to climate technology and policy.

The week-long Sprint took students on a deep dive into climate tech and entrepreneurship through presentations, site visits and group work. “We were split into teams of four, with representatives from each university, and were tasked with putting together a pitch around investing venture capital funding into different climate technologies,” explains Sprint participant Jessie Gilchrist. “Each team developed a comprehensive pitch in just five days.”

Aside from offering fascinating insights into advances in climate tech, the event enabled students to not only put key learnings from their studies into practice, but also to build on this knowledge. “We had great opportunities to learn business skills such as researching a technology of interest, feasibility studies, using AI to guide work and looking at climate policy in the four jurisdictions,” recalls fellow Sprint participant Dr Ricardo D’Souza. For Ricardo, the key takeaway was that effective teamwork requires a number of soft skills: “For example, having an understanding of perspectives and bias, while having to collaborate on a common idea – knowing and leveraging strengths to enable minimisation of weaknesses.”

The opportunity to connect with students from internationally renowned universities like MIT was an obvious highlight. “I learned that there are many great people around the world undertaking the MBA, looking for positive solutions to the many challenges we face – and they are all approachable, friendly and willing to engage in worthwhile conversations,” says another Sprint participant, MBA student Malcolm Hewin. “To be able to do group work with people from other universities was quite a different experience – and really inspiring.”

The Sprint thus offered students an excellent opportunity to network – and challenge themselves – beyond the University of Auckland’s MBA programme, notes the Programme Director, Associate Professor Mike Lee. “This is a chance for our students to not only work alongside, but also to test their mettle, against the best in the world.” And rise to the challenge they did, with their meaningful contributions providing a clear validation of the calibre of the University of Auckland’s MBA programme.

Closer to home, the Collaboration Sprint – as one of the many intensive in-person experiences offered by the Online MBA – gave students in the cohort the chance to connect face-to-face. “The Sprint enabled our group to become more tight-knit,” observes Ricardo. Malcolm also enjoyed the opportunity to build on the relationships he had established during online learning sessions with his peers. “The cohort is an incredibly supportive, collaborative and friendly group of people.”

Plenty more in-person networking opportunities punctuate the programme. A recent event at the magnificent Fale Pasifika brought students together with experts to explore the legal implications of AI, while a wānanga at Waipapa Marae and a one-week overseas study tour – part of the cohort’s final capstone project – bookend the study journey. What this proves is that an online degree is not an isolated experience, says Mike. “On the contrary, increased accessibility enables networks to be much broader. These collaborations and other in-person opportunities mean our students now have the best of both worlds: increased accessibility as well as optional in-person intensives.”

All three students agree, noting that the flexibility of the online programme has enabled them to balance competing commitments of work, family and studies. Malcolm, a senior architect at BSM Group Architects, appreciates being able to study and attend online sessions while travelling; for Ricardo, an emergency medicine physician contracting across the Auckland region’s four public hospitals, online learning enables him to successfully juggle shift work, studies and his family life. And for Jessie, Communications Manager at Connexa, the flexibility of online learning was “a big factor” in choosing the University of Auckland’s MBA. Without that option, an MBA may not have been feasible, she says: “The traditional learning model would have involved a shorter working week, and that’s not possible for my job.”

Although they come from diverse backgrounds and professions, Jessie, Malcolm and Ricardo embarked on their MBAs for similar reasons: all were equally driven to enhance their business and leadership skills beyond the confines of their current roles. “I wanted to learn about all aspects of business and leadership – something that is never taught at architecture school,” says Malcolm. In the same way, aware of the “silo mindset” of health, Ricardo wanted to understand how leadership works in other organisations – “especially balancing complex social, financial, ethical and legal dimensions,” he explains.

The opportunity to participate in events like the Collaboration Sprint in Brisbane has therefore been a critical value-add to their MBA experience. “It helped me transfer skills to a completely different situation, outside of my work and study life, and apply them in a collaborative environment over an extended week-long period,” reflects Malcolm. Similarly, Ricardo enjoyed the immersive aspect of the Sprint. “It gave us the ability to work closely with individuals on a daily basis for the week, and come up with a creative solution to a relevant problem.”

Jessie also relished the opportunity to learn from industry experts and international MBA students. However, for her the biggest highlight of the event was connecting with her cohort in person. “Our MBA cohort is such a special group of people,” she enthuses. “We’re not afraid to challenge each other’s thinking, but it’s one of the most supportive environments I’ve been part of. It’s a judgement-free zone, which makes for a really safe space for learning. I love the way we cheer each other on and celebrate our successes.”