By Giri Kesavan, MBA2021
Giri is the Co-President of The Tech & Media Club at London Business School. An MBA2021 student, he also chairs the degree & careers wide Technology Sector Steering Committee, working with the school, faculty, industry, alumni and Careers Centre on Technology education & careers. Over his time at LBS he has been interested in experiential learning at the school, including coordinating student-led physical and virtual treks to connect students to industry, from London to the world.
As I come to the final few weeks of the MBA at LBS – reflecting back, one key phrase really stands out for me when I look back on my journey over the past 18 months in the MBA: Experiential Learning. When researching the school, a huge part of what I found unique about LBS was the key focus on experiential opportunities. This degree is all about transforming knowledge into different contexts, in a global basis – not simply just about transmission of knowledge from faculty to students.
Thriving in ambiguity. Driving decision making. Contextualising knowledge. These themes have been key skills that I’ve picked up during the MBA programme – and that’s thanks to how we embed industry into the classroom, and truly connect students with industry on a global basis.
Experiential Learning at LBS within the MBA is about so much more than just our Global Business Experiences and LondonCAP. Yes, those programmes are amazing (check out my previous blogs…including the recent Tokyo GBE!) but for me, the real highlight has been how experiential learning has been embedded throughout all our core, tailored core and elective courses.
Our classroom sessions in the MBA are dynamic, adaptive and steeped in industry. The best element of the MBA and the key learnings come from discussing real-world cases with your peers, learning from each other given the incredibly diverse background of the class, and then talking directly with the case ‘protagonist’ to understand the decision-making processes at the time. Coupled with numerous simulations, group exercises and global consulting opportunities – the classroom experience is truly experiential.
It’s not just about the academics. Student impact is at the heart of the MBA, and this year I’ve been part of the Leadership Incubator. This was a fantastic experience bringing together a collection of student leaders, all learning from each other, with masterclass sessions from faculty and industry. Complemented by continuous 1:1 leadership coaching, the incubator gave me a platform to discuss my leadership style, test ideas, implement what I learned in the classroom and truly drive change.
As such, the key element of the MBA from a personal and professional level was taking the opportunity to learn with a global and practical mindset, and truly bring what I learnt from the classroom to industry, from London to the world.
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