Australian Institute of Business (AIB) MBA
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ndustry practitioners for a long time now have criticised traditional business and management education as being too theoretical and lacking a focus on integrating the learning with application at the workplace. We at AIB believe that business and management education which integrates theory and practice will not only be a valuable learning experience for the individual, but also provide a return on investment for their organisation. This is one of the key underlying philosophies of Work-Applied Learning which is engrained at all qualification levels offered by AIB, including the MBA. With Work-Applied Learning, theory and practice go hand-in-hand. Students learn to tackle real world problems through assessments that test both theoretical knowledge and the ability to apply that knowledge to their organisations. The faculty, who are practitioners in various management areas, draw upon their wealth of experience to link theory and practice as they facilitate the learning. In addition, focused readings ensure that students reflect upon their own experience and organisational situation as part of their learning.
The Work-Applied Learning (WAL) model that AIB has developed recognises the workplace as the crucible of learning for change. WAL, incorporating the features of Work-Based Learning, is grounded in a fused Action Research (AR) method and the Action Learning (AL) process. The WAL approach leads not only to individual learning by the students and team learning, but also organisational learning and change. AIB’s MBA, using the WAL approach comprises a number of modules, made up of Knowledge Workshops and Work-Based Phases. The Knowledge Workshops introduce students to business and management
EMERITUS PROFESSOR SELVA ABRAHAM, FOUNDER-CHAIRMAN OF AIB
EMERITUS PROFESSOR DENNIS HARDY, DEAN OF AIB
AIB’s strapline – “The Practical Business School” reflects its grounding in the world of work and its pursuit of the philosophy of Work-Applied Learning. AIB’s goal is to provide quality, affordable and innovative education nationally and internationally, using the Work-Applied research methods and processes of Action Research and Action Learning, Case-Research and Reflective Practice.
FIGURE 1.1 THE WORK-APPLIED LEARNING FORMULA
concepts and how this is applied to relevant work-based projects, through reading materials and an online library (distance learning). This may be supplemented by Facilitative Tutors who have relevant postgraduate qualifications and experience in these knowledge area. Each Knowledge Workshop is followed by a Work-Based Phase, during which time the students will return to their workplace and integrate their knowledge with the application. The Work-Applied Learning experience can be summarised by the formula as illustrated in the Figure 1.1. Whilst managers reflect on questions in the context of their projects, they experience creative thinking through stages of saturation, deliberation, incubation and illumination as they allow their minds to look for different options. They then seek opinions of other
independent parties to validate those options. During the continuous steps of creative thinking, managers learn as they move from a stage of unawareness to awareness, comprehension, conviction and, finally, to actioning their work-based projects. With the trend moving away from traditional classroom settings to distance learning, AIB is dedicated to pursuing the latest learning and collaboration technologies to offer students and researchers the best possible interaction with faculty members and each other. In the spirit of Work-Applied Learning, AIB is continually looking for ways to bring learning into the workplace through technology, which is particularly important given that AIB has students completing programmes in different time zones all over the globe.
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