Percept Research Shares Insights from 2017 Executive MBA Southwest Regional Meeting

Dr. Joyce Kurpiers of Percept Research, attended the 2017 Executive MBA Council Southwest regional meeting from June 13-14. The Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business hosted about 50 attendees at the event.

The regional meeting included sessions covering topics such as “The Importance of Inclusion in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous World,” “Working Mindfully,” “Creating the EMBA of the Future,” and “Disruption in Graduate Education.” Additionally, the conference included sessions from both EMBA alumni and corporate employers to discuss expectations of today’s and future EMBA graduates.

Attendees learn about disruptions affecting decisions to pursue executive education

We wanted to share some of the interesting insights we heard at the meeting:

• Miguel Quiñones (SMU) noted that the demographics of the Dallas-Fort Worth workforce currently represent what US demographics are projected to be in 2065 (particularly with US growth among Hispanic communities). Quiñones cited evidence to argue that fostering workforce diversity not only has positive potential for US and world economies, it also is a key strategy in responding to an increasingly Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous (VUCA) world.
• Chandra Bricker (UT-San Antonio) and others observed that the differentiating feature of the future EMBA may be the way face-to-face interactions are leveraged in concert with increased usage of online technologies and asynchronous program structures.
• EMBA alumni commented that information technology (IT) management tracks within EMBA education will benefit from training on how to get all employees to take personal responsibility for IT risk.
• Ann Dunnewold demonstrated ways that multi-tasking makes us inefficient and less effective in work and daily life, and advocated for mindfulness practice among individuals in the workplace.
• In the next decade, Prof. Tassu Shervani expects the US to exhibit a dramatic rise in apprenticeship programs, a career preparation area in which the US currently lags much of the world.

Do you have other insights that you would like to share in our article comments section below?

Dr. Joyce Kurpiers led a session focused on key business school metrics in the industry that were measured in the 2016 Executive MBA Council Membership Program Survey and from the MBA Student Entry and MBA Student Exit Surveys offered by Percept Research.

The conference included two interactive sessions in which attendees brainstormed, designed, and reported on the “EMBA of the Future.” On Day One, attendees formed groups to discuss their future EMBA programs in the context of prescribed, fictitious scenarios, which included variables like the program’s geography, dean’s vision, institutional advantages or limitations, and potential corporate or university partners. On Day Two, the teams reconvened to deliver their scenarios and solutions to the attending membership. 

Tom Perkowski (SMU) and team present a vision for the “EMBA of the Future”

Percept Research serves as the research partner to the Executive MBA Council. The mission of Executive MBA Council is to educate, network and inform. The council both captures and disseminates valuable industry data to member schools, the media, and the corporate sector.

Percept Research also conducts higher education market research and communications consulting for over 240 business schools worldwide. Consulting engagements include new program feasibility studies, brand positioning, student lifecycle assessments, and messaging strategy.

Many thanks to Amazon Education and Study.net for co-sponsoring this exciting meeting with Percept Research!

Be sure to check out more photos from the regional meeting on the Percept Research Facebook page.