Online MBA Rankings Q&A: Warwick Business School

Even before the pandemic technology is pointing to more education being done online. The last recession ushered in innovations like MOOCs and education platforms such as FutureLearn and Coursera, so the severe downturn that we are likely to see could bring another acceleration towards online learning.

Our my.wbs platform has allowed us to move almost seamlessly to online learning for the pandemic. We have been fortunate that our 30 years of working in this area means moving thousands of students to online learning has been possible and hopefully it will not bring about any deterioration in students’ learning.

We have recently launched another online postgraduate program with the Bank of England in the MSc Global Central Banking and Financial Regulation and I can see more companies and organizations wanting the flexibility and scale of online learning.

A combination of online and offline will bring a truly immersive experience to students. Putting lectures on video means more time can be given to discussion and seminars where ideas and theories are analyzed more. It also frees up time for more innovative learning such as using drama, acting out case studies, music, theatre, design and other creative techniques to bring learning to life.

We are proud to be the first UK business to receive the Athena SWAN Silver Award for improving gender equality.

It has recently been decided students can study up to two of their elective modules face-to-face (one face-to-face module is included in their tuition fee) either on campus at WBS, at WBS London, or in cities such as Prague, Singapore and Dubai.

“We are looking to increase networking among students, especially during the residential weeks; provide more elective modules in different, relevant locations; and offer greater flexibility across the MBA portfolio - for example if Distance learning MBA students want to increase the number of face-to-face modules they have.”

It means constant innovation, experimenting and seeing how blending the digital and physical worlds affects the learning experience for students.

We have a Teaching and Learning Enhancement department that is constantly trialing new technology and ideas to improve student experience. It has two film studios and develops in-house content such as online business games, where students can simulate what happens when they make strategic decisions as a manager of a business.

We invest heavily in EdTech every year and are now trialing a new virtual reality learning experience. The learner journey techniques we have developed from doing MOOCs has helped us to improve the Distance learning MBA.

We are going to companies to film on site, developing mini-documentaries to help open up the subject even more for students. We now have 660 webinars across all our courses, so we can teach fully online, in the classroom or a mixture of both.

It is very much in the early stages, but we are experimenting VR. We are looking at taking the VR camera to a company, to film a manufacturing process, or around the offices of a corporate company. Take students inside a company, to give them a sense of working life there, which could be useful in case study teaching methods.

We could use it to train soft skills as well, interviews, presentations, boardroom meetings, courageous conversations, wage negotiations, contract negotiations etc.

A VR headset would give them a safe place to practice these skills and feedback on their performance can come from the technology as it tracks eye contact. This is already being done in the corporate world, so we could look at bringing that to the business school.

We are looking for driven individuals who will add their own unique perspective to create a diverse cohort in terms of cultures, professions, sectors and experience.

Distance Learning MBA students meet the same entry requirements and are also aspirational in terms of professional and personal development like other MBA students. Those doing the Distance Learning MBA are on average older and further along their career path.

Candidates must have at least four years’ managerial work experience and we are seeking evidence of consistent progression, this may include people management, budgetary or project management responsibilities.