‘From [virtual] classroom to boardroom’: Coaching students to use a research approach to address contemporary issues in their workplace

The Australian Institute of Business (AIB) exclusively serves the needs of working adults and seeks to deliver life-changing experiences for students through a contemporary and practical curriculum delivered online. A key feature of its MBA is a final capstone subject whereby students apply the knowledge acquired during the degree to a business issue in a professional context. Adult learning has been found to be most effective when knowledge is constructed based on workplace problems. However, as industry practitioners, many students find this challenging and have historically struggled with the research-based nature of the capstone subject. This paper reflects on how the MBA Project was re-conceptualised to help students navigate the challenging waters of a final research project. Guided by a coaching mind-set, we experimented with a range of online tools within an andragogical framework to create effective learning activities and engage students to address contemporary issues in their workplace. Not only did this revised capstone achieve the highest completion rate of all the MBA subjects offered, it had a positive influence on student engagement, learning and their overall educational experience as more than 90 percent of students ‘safely reached port’ and completed their MBA.