When it comes to meeting the changing needs of millennial students, it’s all about the blend, say Yoony Kim and Lily Moodey from Amsterdam-based think tank, The Class of 2020
The internationalisation of higher education is not a new topic and holds great importance when it comes to global talent attraction and retention strategies. Yet many industry experts agree that internationalisation is not a goal in itself. Instead, it is a proven way to ensure and enrich the quality of education through multicultural diversity. Business education is particularly responsive to internationalisation because of the speed at which the global business landscape is changing and its demand for highly educated talent that is equipped with inter-cultural sensitivity.
Together with an increase in university partnerships, rises to the number of English-taught programmes and the introduction of the Erasmus+ programme, international student mobility has accelerated in Europe in the past decade. Business Schools are at the forefront of capturing and capitalising on this mobility with continuous programme redesign, strengthened partner-based modules and branch campuses in multiple locations. Reputable European Business Schools are dispersed across the continent, but it is Schools in the UK that remain the top host of international business students by number, hence it is difficult to avoid Brexit when discussing European student mobility.
As UK universities in general stand to lose EU funding as a result of Brexit, many higher education institutions are considering developing or deepening their cross-border partnerships and presence, both to maintain funding channels and to remain attractive to international talent. A 2017 Hobsons report surveyed 949 international students and found that 76% of EU students would be likely or very likely to consider studying at a UK branch campus in an EU country other than their own, while 58% would be likely to study at a UK branch campus in their own country, indicating both the perceived value of UK institution names and an appetite to remain in the EU. However, trends are nuanced when it comes to MBA programmes.
The learning experience and detecting the changing needs of today’s students
This year, the entrance exam administrator, the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) found that 54% of its surveyed Business School admissions test takers said Brexit had no impact on their decision of whether or not to study in the UK. While applications to programmes in the US have dropped in recent years, applications to premium courses in the UK have continued to increase by double-digit percentages, defying predictions that students would feel less welcome in the UK in the lead up to Brexit.
This may imply the variety of considerations at play when prospective MBA students choose the destinations and institutions at which they wish to obtain their degree. Known for the blend of theoretical and practical learning, the most dominant reason for choosing an MBA remains career progression, which is heavily affected by university rankings, exposure to the right opportunities and network. UK Business Schools have outstanding track records in these areas, which could be one of the reasons they still seem to stand strong.
However, through connecting with our stakeholders in university cities around Europe we have detected some of the changing needs and desires of current and prospective Business School students when opting for further studies. The average age of today’s MBA applicant is 28, according to the 2018 QS TopMBA.com Applicant Survey, and this means that millennials now dominate the MBA student population. Through connecting with our stakeholders in university cities around Europe we have detected some of the changing needs and desires of this demographic – both current and prospective students of Business School – when opting for further studies. Three main trends addressing the learning experience of millennials stood out in particular.
1. Blend of learning, living and working
The student learning experience is no longer bound to classrooms or curricula. Millennials seek out continuous learning and extend the experience to the entire package of learning, living and working. The importance of the ‘living’ aspect during an individual’s studies therefore multiplies and becomes one of the determining factors when choosing to study further.
‘Living’ is no longer solely about location and space, but the place and community students can identify themselves with, which can accommodate their preferences, furnish their ambition and nourish their inspiration. A blended living concept is therefore fast emerging, encouraged by active dialogues and partnerships between higher education institutions, city government and purpose-built student accommodation investors, developers and operators.
In addition, as educational pathways become less linear and increasing numbers of people intersperse work and education throughout their careers, spaces which blend living, working and learning are emerging to accommodate these blended lifestyles, stimulated by technology.
2. Blend of physical and virtual
Flexibility in the location of studies and the timeline during which studies occur have become increasingly important considerations for today’s footloose generation of talent. This raises questions surrounding how technological innovation allows for flexibility and whether sacrifices in quality are made when higher education programmes offer digital learning to supplement, or as a substitute, for classroom time.
There are active discussions and innovations currently taking place in this area. David Lefevre, Director of the EdTech Lab at Imperial College Business School, has harnessed hologram technology in the curriculum in an attempt to compete with rivals in attracting students and to challenge the perception that digital alternatives are necessarily substandard to traditional MBA teaching methods.
Changing, too, are the spaces in which education occurs. Entirely novel learning environments are being imagined that can accommodate the new formats enabled by digital technology and the new skills required of entrepreneurs. Talent Garden, a European network of co-working spaces, has leveraged its success in bringing small digital startups together on its campuses to fill a demand for new education pathways. It now offers an Innovation School, where students are able to study onsite within small networks while developing international connections, aided by technology, to complete master’s courses in everything from coding to marketing.
3. Blend of university campus and urban environment
Cities and towns are responding to the above trends, initiating the transformation of districts’ knowledge ecosystems. Global talent attraction and retention has become the first and foremost priority not only for higher education institutions, but also for cities and towns due to its direct influence on the area’s socioeconomic development.
That’s why higher education institutions located in different regions will often work together with regional governments to promote different unique selling points catered to diverse needs and desires of current and prospective students. Nyenrode Business Universiteit, a leading Business School in the Netherlands, relocated its full-time MBA programme to Amsterdam from their estate in Breukelen in 2017, with the aim of better integrating students with the European business community.
Hotelschool The Hague, a Business School in the Netherlands that specialises in hospitality management, attracts talents from across the world to two campus locations in The Hague and Amsterdam, but its MBA programme is offered solely on their Amsterdam campus. Having MBA programmes in the bigger cities makes logical sense when attracting international talent, as bigger cities are normally equipped with an international business community within the physical proximity, hence increasing the chance of better integration and professional development.
However, learning, living and working in a bigger city creates challenges as well. These challenges include possible financial and mental constraints for students due to the higher cost of using necessary infrastructure, lack of available and affordable housing, and individual isolation due to the vast array of socialising opportunities that, ironically, tend to have a negative impact on student bonding and local community interactions.
It is therefore becoming increasingly important for higher education institutions to take responsibility for fully informing their candidates of all the pros and cons associated with studying in a big city as opposed to a smaller town to enable them to critically assess what might suit them best and what will help maximise their learning experience, while working together with the local government and infrastructure providers to make continuous improvements.
Yoony Kim is the Managing Director at The Class of 2020. Lily Moodey is the Programme Coordinator at The Class of 2020. The Class of 2020 is an Amsterdam-based think tank exploring the future of living, working and learning in university cities. Its annual conference, Blended Living, takes place in Berlin from 6-7 November, 2019.
