Practice Weeks @ Bedfordshire: An innovative response to criticisms of management education

Delivering an MBA Management Consulting Experience

“…Often these projects must align with a certain theme (e.g., sustainability) around which course lectures center. There are also many courses that attempt to simulate consulting engagements or help students develop certain consulting skills (see, for instance, Erzurumlu & Rollag, ; Sheppard, Minocha, & Hristov, ). There are numerous resources referenced throughout this article that are available for instructors interested in incorporating real‐world projects into their courses, and for students interested in learning more about the consulting profession.…”

The Efficacy of Consulting Practicum in Enhancing Students’ Readiness for Professional Career in Management Information Systems: An Empirical Analysis

“…Consulting practicum (CP) as a from experiential learning (EL) technique has become a popular pedagogical strategy being adopted by colleges and universities to help students acquire essential career skills and enhance their career readiness (Casner‐Lotto & Barrington, ; Sheppard, Minocha, & Hristov, ). Career readiness in this context entails possessing the academic knowledge and skills required for postsecondary employment.…”

“…Such skills can also help the potential employee to succeed in the position (Camara, ). As an innovative EL pedagogical strategy, CP can contribute to preparing students for professional careers and ensure a smooth transition from college to work life (Sheppard et al., ). The following reasons account for the recent popularity of CP: Students prefer CP due to the benefits of applying learned concepts, theoretical knowledge, and other skills gained from the classroom and other sources, and to solving real‐life business problems. The student can also benefit from the positive impact of working under the supervision and mentoring of faculty and an industry supervisor (Mykytyn, Pearson, Paul, & Mykytyn, ).…”

“…The student can also benefit from the positive impact of working under the supervision and mentoring of faculty and an industry supervisor (Mykytyn, Pearson, Paul, & Mykytyn, ). A CP helps the student acquire professional career skills and experience to ease the transition from college to employment (Sheppard et al., ).…”

“…The implementation of CP has helped business schools address public and industry criticisms of management and information systems (MIS) education producing graduates who lack adequate quality and career ready skills to tackle real‐world problems (Casner‐Lotto & Barrington, ; Sheppard et al., ). This helps to explain why Business Schools accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) are paying particular attention to CP as an innovative pedagogical strategy (AACSB, ; Finch, Peacock, Lazdowski, & Hwang, ).…”