Programmes

There are a number of acknowledged advantages that bring our students to Glasgow. Prominent among them are the close ties that we establish with participants, the quality of the learning environment and the approach taken to business education.

A conscious effort is made to create close-knit communities of participants, academics and practitioners, learning communities that foster collaborative working and the cultivation of reflective business thinking and practice.

Our traditions and approach to management learning promote a healthy scepticism of the emulation mentality and appetite for quick-fix solutions that often grip front line practitioners. Tutors encourage students to be self-consciously aware of the attitudes, assumptions and expectations they bring to their studies, to exchange views, relate possibilities to evidence on outcomes and develop the critical and evaluative abilities that deliver the most lucrative values in employment.

Our workshops and classroom sessions are often lively affairs, with supportive exchanges that build confidence and critical awareness, helping people to look inside themselves and to reflect upon their own situations, contexts and approach to the key questions of business practice. Active learning events involve case deliberation, provocative discussion and even soul searching, hence the emphasis on supportive ties and collaborative communities.

Feedback from participants and graduates emphasises the value and developmental opportunities afforded by this level of engagement in the learning process. The most significant outcomes are identified, not in terms of particular competencies, skills or prescriptions, but rather in critical and reflective capabilities and the capacity to exercise judgement. This is where the added value and, indeed, the career enhancing benefits are to be found.