MBAs must have dirt under their nails - focus on entrepreneurship

A number of MBA educations chose to combine their programs with practical company assignments - with a dash of entrepreneurship - so that students and the companies alike can reap the benefits of their theoretical ballast.

"At Copenhagen Business School, CBS, the focus is that MBA students must have practical experience as part of their baggage. This is why CBS initiated its Advisory Board last year which everyone who is taking a fulltime MBA education must participate in.

The Advisory Board program is aimed at entrepreneurs and small, rapidly growing companies. In addition to the 35 students, the team is comprised of 5 senior advisors and 16 companies in the program.

"It is incredibly important, that an education is not only about lectures and readings. MBA educations noramlly are heavily based on case studies from large, global companies. With this program, the students also get their hands on real-life problems and situations, because they in turn are part of the case studiens. It is a different way in which to learn," explains Eythor Ivar Jonsson, Associate Professor of Entrepreurship at CBS.

The students are divided up into smaller groups where each group is assigned a company.

"The advice given is very valuable to small, rapidly growing companies. They get brainstorming and advice from existing specialists in business strategy. The students can better develop a helicopter view of the company and its challenges and, by doing so, help the company to make important decisions", he says.

Because the program runs over a full year, the students are able to concurrently include and use the new knowledge they have gained from their education quickly after they have learn it to the benefit of both the company and the student alike. And Iythor Ivar Jonsson can see at this contributes to the students developing and thinking of more concrete solutions because they have the company and its challenges in the back of their heads the entire time.

He points to three important things that the students get out of participating in the Advisory Board program: "For the first, they get board experience. This is something one can only learn by doing it. The other is hands-on experience with consultancy. They must find out what and when to give advice and guidance. The third thing the students learn is entrepreneurship, where they also get inspiration to establish something themselves," says Eythor Ivar Jonsson and explains that many of the students have an idea that they should go into large companies and earn alot of money.

But when they see the enthusiasm which is often present in small, entrepreneurial companies, they catch the attitude and are inspired to go along the path of entrepreneurship.