16 Jan 2024
Dr Matt Offord is using thirty years of experience gained as a Navy submarine officer and mine clearance diver to teach a new course that’s grounded in experiential learning to business students at the University of Glasgow.
‘Futures In Leadership’ gives fourth year undergraduates an all-abilities outdoor experiential learning experience that goes beyond the classroom.
It has been shortlisted for the prestigious AMBA and BGA Excellence Awards, with winners due to be announced on 19 January.
The course was inspired by ecopedagogy, a teaching approach centred on social and natural environments that connects management theory and concrete experience. It identifies the skills humans can teach, learn and add to the workplace, recognising and evaluating the impact of technology, rather than learning about current technology in detail.
Introduced in 2022/2023, the Adam Smith Business School course has proved so popular that it is due to expected to double its student intake for the 2023/2024 cohort.
Course creator and leader Dr Matt Offord is passionate about using the experience gained during his naval career in leadership roles to fully prepare students for the management challenges of today’s workplaces.
Dr Offord says: “The Covid-19 lockdowns and associated restrictions showed us how reliant our society has become on the classroom. Before the concept of the classroom emerged in medieval times, learning was done on a one-to-one basis - an apprenticeship model that encouraged more effective learning.
“Although the classroom offers a positive learning environment, it can limit teaching options. We know that there is a skills gap in terms of leadership and soft skills, which is a growing issue for employers when they are recruiting new graduates - and I believe that a dependence on the indoor classroom has contributed to this.
“Similarly, frameworks and management policies and theories may be difficult for a young person who’s just left school to understand. My time with the Navy demonstrated how effective a role practical experience can play in developing leadership skills - and that’s what I’m keen to share with our students.”
The acceleration of generative AI in higher education has also contributed to the need for experiential learning.
“We are seeing a growing reliance on the use of Chat GPT by students to complete assignments, which can discourage critical thinking skills. To combat this, I like to set practical tasks such as finding out how many University buildings are named after women (only three) and why this might be - or to count the electric cars going past University Avenue, during a lecture on Tesla,” explains Dr Offord. “They are asked to write detailed fieldnotes, which they can then reference in assessments. It’s all about anchoring learning in the lived experience.
“Ultimately, today’s business school graduates need to be thoughtful, critical and reflective - and a PowerPoint presentation in a classroom will not get them there alone.”
Students on the course have had the opportunity to work with inspiring leaders including an Everest summit heroine, actor, NHS consultant and ex-Special Forces leader. Sessions can take place in the wilderness, but ecopedagogy is not just about team-building or physical challenges, as Dr Offord explains:
“As escaping the classroom is central to ecopedagogy, there’s a tendency to confuse it with outdoor learning. Yet many of our sessions take place on campus or at places of local business. For students who are used to passive learning, being told to walk out of a lecture and undertake a practical task can be challenging – but taking them out of this comfort zone has so many benefits for their development, and by the end of the course, they are so used to it that they beat me to it in suggesting we go on a walk!”
He adds: “We are delighted to be on the AMBA Awards shortlist. This is a great platform to demonstrate what can happen when you try something new and take risks – hopefully we can demonstrate to others that it is worth the leap of faith.”
Feedback has been hugely positive, from both industry experts and students. Ian Chambers, Performance Director and Principal Coach, IC Transformations Ltd, said:
“Futures in Leadership is one the best initiatives I’ve seen for a long time at an undergraduate level. Using experienced people to help develop the thinking of our young people who are destined to become leaders is fantastic; let’s face it, these young people are going to have to manage some enormous global challenges. But also, as a coach it’s refreshing, encouraging and always insightful to get young people’s take on things. I think this programme needs to be an essential part of undergraduate development."
One student commented: “This was by far the best business course I have taken in the last four years. It really made me think about myself and it is going to make me more conscious and reflective for the future.”
