You will work in a group of no more than 20 on this part time course. In the morning you will discuss the theoretical and practical applications of various topics such as strategy, HR, continuous improvement, leadership and so on. You will apply and practice these ideas in the group to develop confidence to begin using them in the workplace. As the course progresses you will develop a greater say in shaping the content and delivery of these sessions.

Afternoons typically begin with a ‘reading club’ where a topical paper or book is discussed in relation to the earlier session. This session aims to develop your confidence in engaging with scholarly material. After this you will undertake group work to discuss practical application of material in the workplace. This typically takes the form of action learning but other group processes will be used as well.

A lot of your learning and assignments will be in the form of projects, which you will often complete at work. It is important to draw a picture of what these might look like, appreciating that clarity will only fully come in the conversations when you are planning these out with the Faculty and work colleagues. It is important to stress that we are not looking for grand or large projects. Learning is better achieved in smaller clearly defined project work where you can explore inter-connected themes at play with, for example, strategy, leadership culture etc. Successful projects have included:

• The introduction of a new spreadsheet in a team to record invoicing.
• Working with a colleague in a different department on a small project to prove a concept.
• Investigating a new market for a product.

In selecting a project, it is important to stress that you will be encouraged to push yourself beyond your own ‘comfort zone’ towards an area of your own development goals. For example, if you work in HR, an HR project with in your existing team is unlikely to be adequately developmental if it is just ‘business as usual’. Whereas if you were working in a different team, or site or stretching your application of knowledge, this would be encouraged.

The final part of the MBA is a live consultancy project. This covers important elements such as working with the client to develop a clear brief, understanding what is already known about the subject (for example a review of the professional and academic literature) and the methods and techniques that might be required to carry out the work.

This is broad brush and accompanies conversations you need to have with the client to agree a project. Thereafter you will be allocated a supervisor when the specific details and techniques of the work can be agreed and put into place.