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Master Program: International Action Learning MBA
Learning purpose
Real Time Challenges
In this International Executive programme you will NOT work on endless theoretical or historical cases. Instead you will focus on your own organisation’s real-time challenges that need to be solved, to get on with your job. By solving these challenges as an Action Learning team, with the help of your fellow students and BSN’s expert faculty, you will not only gain knowledge but will be advancing your career from the start of this course. In addition you will gain international learning experiences through interaction with fellow students and acclaimed faculty from different parts of the world during your 2 block visits to the Netherlands or South Africa. Your Action Learning Projects and Dissertation form the backbone of your studies. All these projects are based on your own professional workplace learning and the outcome is assessed by a team of specialist BSN faculty. ith this Action Learning methodology BSN takes its programme further than the “standard” academic programmes, thus creating better leaders beyond academics.
Target audience
For managers around the world
This International Executive programme is for busy managers that like learning by doing. If you have so many daily challenges already that it seems impossible to combine them with a MBA study – then the International Action Learning MBA is for you.
Programme
Phase 1
Here we lay the theoretical foundation on which your future study will be based; this creates a common conceptual framework whilst you follow the IALMBA. You will generate an ‘Organisational Analysis’ of your own company and design a Personal Development Plan based on your current leadership skills.
Phase 2
Kicks off with a residential international conference in the Netherlands or South Africa. You will meet your fellow classmates face to face for the first time. Here faculty members are keen to share experiences and knowledge. Following each conference, students work on the Action Learning Projects (ALPs), which they selected in their organisations. Students will aid each other as members of a project team. Where student numbers permit, (minimum 4) geographical sets will be established for additional face to face coaching.
Students have access 24:7 to the virtual class environment, where continued networking, discussion, and exchange of experiences is encouraged, supported and coached by one of our renowned expert facilitators. A written report of the projects, one for each of the six Core Courses, will serve as the assignment, in which the students should demonstrate that they have studied the body of knowledge and have been able to apply it.
Phase 3
Rounds up the successful conclusion of your MBA by completing the Masters Project. This differs from the ALPs in phase 2 by addressing a relevant problem or challenge that is considered of strategic value to your organisation. The internal examiner provides continued support during this final phase.
Entry Requirements
Who can apply?
MBA students must have finalised at least a Bachelor’s study and hold a management or management trainee position. In certain circumstances exception can be made for managers that do not hold a Bachelor Degree, based on the extent of their professional experience. In such cases an APEL (Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning) interview will be required. Completion of the English literacy test is also a requirement. Furthermore the organization that the student works for has to be fully supportive, to enable students to execute their change projects (Action Learning Projects and Dissertation Project). These projects are in all cases intended to directly benefit the said organizations by finding best fit solutions with the intent to learn from it as well.
Opleiding kerngegevens
The International MBA was a logical choice for me, a wish that had been going through my mind already for several years. Working as an export manager means travelling frequently and therefore flexibility in time schedules is crucial.
From day one I have been inspired in all sorts of ways: by the discussions on the web forum with my fellow students, digging for answers on challenging questions posted by the Learning Coaches and during the workshops in Buren, The Netherlands and Cape Town, South Africa.
The professors motivate with strong presentations, critical questions and inspiring video clips. First I was a bit concerned about finding suitable topics for the action learning projects (not that my organization is perfect), this changed quickly. All the course material gave plenty of new insights and my company's business environment changed pretty drastically and called for the development of a new strategy... numerous ALP topics were all of a sudden extremely relevant.
My advantage is that I work for a relatively small company with short communication lines and a high involvement level on strategic issues. The perfect environment to take responsibility to turn real business cases into challenging ALP's.
What has brought the journey so far for me personally?
I really learned much about the connection between the different elements of an organization. I acknowledged that my impatience is a constraint: on one hand it helps me in my discipline to meet deadlines (so far I am on schedule) but on the other hand I learned that a good manager also takes time for important matters in order to make good decisions. What has brought the journey so far for my organization? It implemented competence management as a corporate HR Tool. It implemented a forecasting model as an operational management tool. It developed a price policy for a new market resulting in approx. EUR 3.5 million turn-over in the last 8 months.
No doubt that the upcoming ALP's will also have their fair contribution to improvements for my organization I look forward to complete the projects and to start on the dissertation.
Set N43 is the first international group to have experienced workshops both in The Netherlands and South Africa.
A great experience to learn more about each other's culture although it was a pity that there was very little time to explore Cape Town during the course week itself...well at least I became "master of the djembé", and my fellow South African peers showed us Dutch what a real South African "braai" is,...big lumps of meat in a delicious marinade, perfectly grilled on a camp fire in combination with a fine South African wine,......so besides gaining more knowledge, I also gained a few extra pounds during that week.
Is it all so good and perfect?
No..definitely not...first of all to keep up with all the work it really takes discipline and a lot of time, little sleep and sacrificing social activities. But as long as you experience the journey as fun, it helps you to overcome difficult times where you simply don't have time or when the creativity level is far to find. So far so good...I wish all my peers all the best with their projects and I hope to see all of them for the graduation ceremony.
Cheese Partners Holland