HULT NEWS
TEACHING SOFT SKILLS IN A HARD WAY
Hundreds of interviews with CEOs and managers, hours of development, and
five key competencies—a sneak preview of the new MBA curriculum for 2014.
In 2012, Hult embarked upon an exciting new journey, a journey
that would lead to the creation of the world's first MBA designed by
business leaders for business leaders. Ever dedicated to ensuring
students graduate job-ready, the school decided it was time to ask
employers what they really expected from business school graduates. Led by Dr. Mark Fuller (Founder of consulting firm Monitor), the
Hult Labs research team conducted interviews with exectuvies at
top companies and organizations to find out their views on business
education.
The results were clear—traditional MBA programs are good at
theory but poor on practical experience and interpersonal or ‘soft’
skills. The research identified five key competencies that employers
are looking for in future employees: adaptive thinking, communication, relationships, teamwork, and execution.
The next step was to design a new version of our MBA curriculum that addressed these failings. The result? A groundbreaking new
curriculum that equips students with both the theoretical foundations
and soft skills required for success. Modeled on corporate leadership programs at top companies, the curriculum allows students to
develop these skills through repeated training sessions, peer coaching, and personal planning. Students will also have the chance to put
theory into practice with a series of competitive simulations, applying
theory in a safe setting to tackle a range of challenges. This holistic
approach in which students are not just 'taught' core competencies,
rather are forced to apply them in realistic yet secure settings, and in
response to real-life examples, is a major differentiator in the field of
business education. The school is both proud and excited about the
new curriculum and looking forward to welcoming the first cohort in
September 2014 to the MBA program.
The new MBA program will culminate in style in Davos,
Switzerland, where Hult MBA students from across the globe will
converge on the Davos Congress Centre (home to the renowned
World Economic Forum) for a week of celebration and final challenges. The event will offer students fantastic opportunities to
network with fellow MBA students and hear from some top speakers. Students will be able to look forward to banquets, graduation
ceremonies, seminars, and speaker events a-plenty!
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Employers participating in Hult Labs’ research
The results of Hult Labs’ research—the most comprehensive ever
conducted—were based on feedback from employers at one hundred of the world's top companies in finance, technology, consulting,
and manufacturing. Participants included:
ABB
Accenture
AlixPartners
Athenahealth
Amgen
Bain & Company
Banco Sabadell
Bank Sarasin
Biogen Idec
Booz Allen Hamilton
Cisco
Clorox
Cognizant
Comcast
Croda
Danaher
Duke Energy
Easa Saleh Al Gurg
Group
Emigrant Bank
Ernst &Young
Gillette
Humana
IBM
Intermountain
Healthcare
Keppel
Liberty Mutual
LIXIL Corporation
Microsoft
Nasdaq
PSA Singapore
Robert Half
Sembcorp Industries
SingTel
Sotera Defense
Solutions Swissport
International
Syngenta
Tokyo Electron
Unilever
U.S. Airways