Get practical! HULT responds to growing demand for ‘hands-on’ managers

By Jacob Parackal

The conventional, theoretical class room education is losing favor in the current turbulent economic environment. Students with strong theoretical knowledge but without any experience of how to apply that knowledge in the field are being considered to be ‘no good’ by corporations.

Corporations today no longer have the time to make a candidate fit for tackling real life challenges by putting them through a time consuming training process. The most advanced and contemporary business institutes have already changed their course structure to one oriented to ‘practical learning’ rather than theoretical class room learning, in response to the changing environment.

‘LEAP’ is a leap by Hult in that direction.

LEAP stands for Learn, Experience and Action Projects. The essence of this style of teaching is not to undermine the importance of abstract theory, but to incorporate the practical applications of those theories. In fact, when students learn the practical application of their theoretical knowledge, they get a much better understanding of the subject being taught in the class room.

As part of LEAP, the learning process is divided into two steps.

First you get strong theoretical knowledge from one of the best faculties in the world and thereafter you undergo learning through the case study methods to give you a sense of how these theories and principles are being applied in practice. This involves interactive learning through thought-provoking discussions with students from around the world. At this stage, Hult provides you with the theory, tools, terminology, and trends to give you a broad perspective on business.  

To enrich the LEAP process, insights and real world experience of the faculties is a vital element.

To develop the analytical ability of the students to translate the theory into practice, the students participate in panel discussions with industry experts and are provided exclusive networking opportunities and company visits.

The students receive first hand advice from visionary speakers such as Arianna Huffington on the choices and mistakes they have made in analyzing and responding to real life situations. Hult’s Global Rotation gives you the opportunity to experience international business practices up-close.

The last step is definitely the Action Projects. As a business student, you can participate in a real-world project for a major company or an Action Project created in partnership with your current employer, which is a ‘win-win’ for you and your company.

Advised by a mentor, small teams of students compete with one another to develop a business strategy and present their recommendations to that company. Hult’s Action Projects are designed to emphasize innovation and growth and focus on the paramount challenge facing any company: identifying new pathways for growth.

As stated LEAP is a leap towards the most modern way of developing business leaders and has been recognised by industry experts all over the world. The practical approach of teaching is available in many business schools, but the difference is that few of them are as diversified and contemporary as LEAP.

As a Student who went through the LEAP way of learning at Hult, with professors with real world experience i.e. doing business or in corporate world, I learned to tackle real life problems.

The reason you will see many start-ups emerging from businesses schools that incorporate the LEAP model in some manner is because when their Founding teams get out of business school, they are all set to tackle real world problems. 

While starting up selectmytutor.co.uk, I had come across quite a few obstacles on a daily basis. But having worked with 3M during my action project helped me negotiate the winding entrepreneurial path and even get introduced to some key contacts that helped me get the necessary seed funding for starting up my venture.

The old school teaching methods need to give way to the new technology based learning such as the LEAP method.

MBA graduates need to be industry ready and meet the requirement of the companies they are hired in. In this environment of austerity, corporates are preferring employees who need the least training and are the right fit for their team.

Contributing Blogger Jacob Parackal is a 2011 alumnus of Hult International Business School. He has more than 4+ years in strategic consulting for top MNC companies. He is currently the co-founder of  ‘Select My Tutor’ and is running its operations. 

Cover image courtesy Fastcompany.com