The graduation thesis – working hard to do research in and for companies with the intention to produce business relevant recommendations and even better also an implementation plan; to see how much students can find out and do on the problems and challenges that are presented to them by the companies. As a graduation coach I have front row watching the dynamic between student and company supervisor / stakeholders, and it is one of the most exciting learning journeys in the study program, sometimes followed by a job offer for the student: ‘we like your recommendations and implementation plan’!
I also look forward to the defense in which the student explains his/her work and results. Having done enough of these, I read and hear (recent) examples of companies with development challenges when it comes to elementary business functions and management tools, such as: ‘we do not know what to do or how to use AI’, ‘please make us a credit/audit dashboard’, ‘we are chasing potential clients but we do not have a sales target’, ‘we know we have to do something with CRM but don’t know where to begin’, ‘how can we make best use of social media?’, ‘we better introduce some type of strategy process to keep track of what we are doing’, and ‘what should our learning & development program consider?’.
Seems like whether a company is big or small, making time available with the right set of stakeholders to better understand ‘things’ is often overlooked/neglected/ignored.
Ok, you can hire an expensive consultant to do it for you. … Or you can get an educator into the company! We know how to create active hybrid learning environments where not only students, but also managers, specialists, engineers, marketeers and experts from different cultural backgrounds work together on a common goal, sometimes in not more than 3 hours, sometimes in two days. Learning by doing and experiencing new knowledge and skills based on best practices or real-world examples are key principles in our curriculum development. Educators can be strategic bridge-builders in a company helping managers focus on tasks and relationships and making them profitable in more ways than one!
(Image by Vectorarte on Freepik)
Vind ik leuk
Over Kiran Aswani
Exploration of human nature has been a lifelong interest, and gathering the knowledge and deeper understanding of the world, a constant pursuit. Having lived on four continents and having been exposed to so many places and persons, I find myself even more curious, and with a heightened awareness. In Fontys, I teach finance and accounting in the International Business program. My blog is an exercise in critical thinking, looking at the intersection between finance-education-life.