In this week’s Thought Sparks Podcast episode, Rita McGrath, a Columbia University Business School Professor, C-Suite strategist, business founder and best-selling author, speaks with Ben Nelson, Chairman and CEO of the Minerva Project, and Founder of Minerva University. They discuss the mission behind the Minerva Project: a university that prioritizes active learning, global perspectives, and impactful application of knowledge, and what it means to rethink what higher education could look like. 0:27: Introduction - Building the Intentional University2:34: The 23-Year-Old CEO - Managing Stakeholders and Loneliness3:43: The 29-Year-Old CEO - When Command-and-Control Leadership Thrives6:40: Succession and Setting Up Your Future Organization for Success8:38: Why “Socializing” A Decision is Ineffective9:59: Ben Nelson’s Critiques of Education11:22: The Retention Issue: How Would Present-Day You do on an Exam from your Undergraduate Days?12:34: Minerva University’s Mission: Enabling Authentic Learning and Systems Thinking16:24: The Qualities of Educational Systems Designed for a Different Era19:27: Breaking Structures and Flipping Classrooms20:46: Building Deep Processing Skills to Retain Knowledge21:40: Measuring How Broadly Students can Apply What They’ve Learned23:18: Living in Six Countries in Three Years of Study27:52: Using AI Effectively to Inform Human Decision-Making33:11: The Role of the University in Disseminating (and Interrogating) Knowledge35:17: The Gaps in Project-Based Learning: When Do You Really Know How to Build a Bike?38:08: Blockbuster, and Why the Case Method Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story41:56: 1,000 Graduates, and Growing: Minerva Methodology in Universities and High Schools49:59: The Chicken-and-Egg Conundrum of Founding a New University52:40: When Do Some Universities Run the Risk of Becoming “Diploma Mills”?56:44: “Read a Hundred Opinion Columns, and Disagree with Ninety-Five of Them”Thought Sparks are the brainchild of Rita McGrath. They are insightful actions, strategic ideas, actionable suggestions and innovative approaches that help organizations and leaders master the future with less fear and more confidence. New episodes of the Thought Sparks Podcast are released every other Tuesday at 11am Eastern. Want to learn more about Rita’s ideas and hear more of her conversations with business leaders and innovators? Listen to more Thought Sparks Podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts  and Spotify.Watch Thought Sparks episodes on YouTubeFollow Rita on LinkedIn, Instagram, X and Blue Sky.Connect with Rita on TikTokSign up for her Thought Sparks Newsletter on Substack. Learn more about Rita, her books and ideas at RitaMcGrath.com

Ver todos los episodios