AMBITION: Sharing knowledge and experiences

The team at AMBA & BGA have now put together – and distributed – three editions of AMBITION from our homes, as we continue to acclimatise to the 'new normal' of remote working. 

You might have noticed that the frequency of AMBITION has been reduced slightly since March.

We were mindful that many of you have been away from your workplaces in lockdown and unable to receive your print copies. 

During this period, we've sought to offer more accessible ways of bringing you our usual thought leadership – and have converted more than 50 interviews that would normally have been printed in the magazine into our podcast. More than 25 episodes are now available on a range of platforms, including Spotify, SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and TuneIn. You can access these for free by visiting www.associationofmbas.com/podcast, and simply clicking on the icon of the platform of your choice. 

So far, commentators in the podcast have shared their thoughts on ongoing challenges facing the business education community – but they have also shared a sense of optimism in the future. One common theme has been an ambition for greater collaboration between Business Schools to face the challenge of a post-Covid world collectively, and contribute knowledge and experiences for mutual benefit. 

On that note, another of AMBA's thought leadership initiatives – to enable networking and collaboration during lockdown restrictions – has been the development of our virtual roundtable series. These roundtables bring together Business School leaders for online discussions on pressing topics. We have plans to host four more roundtable events over the coming six months, but the first one, hosted in May 2020 in association with technology company Barco, explored ideas around the implementation, impact and assessment of online technology in business education. 

The Covid-19 pandemic has created a perfect storm but also the perfect opportunity for Business Schools to get creative with online delivery. In saying that, participants at the roundtable pointed out that innovation in this area is not about taking a classroom-based programme and moving it to an online platform. Instead, it's about making use of the wealth of technology available, and aligning it to the culture and overall strategy of the Business School. 

The roundtable drilled into topics relating to the application of technology. These include online learner preferences and student engagement; measuring impact; demonstrating online benefits to faculty; complementing face-to-face programmes; and how to use technology to meet the needs of diverse groups.

And, going forward, AMBITION will once again be delivered – both digitally and in print – every month. We also plan to grow our online networking and podcast initiatives further, to offer you as much interaction, debate, and collaboration as we can. Watch this space.