MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN
DEAR UCD BUSINESS ALUMNI,
a rigorous process where we submit an intensive 100+ page self- assessment report to the accrediting body. A review team visits cam- pus to run the magnifying glass over all of our activities, programmes, and personnel. They then provide feedback on the School’s strengths and weaknesses and recommend whether accreditation should be renewed. It can be a nerve-wracking procedure, but when the opening statement is, ‘This is an excellent school’, we exhale for the first time in a while. The team cited our strong portfolio of programmes, diverse, talented, and engaged students, and committed and talented academic and professional staff. They went on to credit us with exceptional corpo- rate connections, outstanding infrastructure and a strong network of international alliances. Finally, they were very positive about the advances we have made in research productivity and executive educa- tion, two areas the last review identified as focus for attention. The review group also shared recommendations for improvement.
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They acknowledged that we had ambitious goals for the School. Their question was where we would find the resources to pursue these ambitions, especially in these resource-constrained times. They noted that the quality of our academic staff translates into the quality of our programme delivery. It also is the ultimate determinant of our stand- ing amongst business school colleagues worldwide. While we have an excellent faculty, they are stretched to keep up with the demands of a very diverse set of programmes. Recruiting additional academic staff, including accomplished professors for chaired positions, would increase our international profile and provide mentoring for our junior faculty.
4 UCD BUSINESS CONNECTIONS
FTEN, it is only when others point out our strengths that we stop to consider and appreciate them our- selves. That thought comes to mind because we have just been reviewed by an international team of Deans from prominent business schools for EQUIS (the European Quality Improvement System), one of our major international accreditations. These reviews, which happen every five years, involve
The group urged us to continue to develop our research activities,
saw a need for additional help in Alumni Relations and Career Services, and thought we could play a major role in the UCD-TCD Innovation Alliance with the right support. Conscious of the difficult financial environment we face, they advised us to look for additional income-generating opportunities, especially internationally, and to seek contributions from alumni and friends of the School to help fund our development. Finally, they suggested that business schools will look very different in the future and we could benefit from doing some ‘blue sky’ thinking about where things are heading. We have thought recently about the needs of students facing an
uncertain future and have translated that into a major revision of our BComm curriculum. A taskforce concluded that the biggest obstacle to Irish student success at university is the ‘Leaving Cert mentality’ they develop in trying to maximise CAO points. Business leaders we consulted told us that the world of work does not reward rote memo- risation, it rewards flexibility, the ability to deal with ambiguity and incisive thinking. In response, we have designed an intensive first semester where we will educate students in analytical writing, decision-making based on clear-headed assessment and viewing busi- ness in a more holistic fashion. As the curriculum unfolds, we will move to a spotlight on students as leaders of the future. Two ‘pillars’ – Innovation and Enterprise and Business in Society – will interweave throughout the programme. The final piece is asking students to create and track a personal develop- ment portfolio during their studies. A revamp of this magnitude is challenging to develop and imple- ment, calling for more interaction of academic staff across discipli- nary boundaries and requiring an iterative process of trying new approaches and adjusting as we go. Ultimately, our students will be the beneficiaries as they graduate into the workforce well prepared to respond to the challenges of 21st-century business.
With very best wishes Prof Tom Begley, Dean, UCD School of Business
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