Why an Online Master’s in Leading Innovation and Change?

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As many of our readers are asking what makes our Online Master’s in Leading Innovation and Change stand out from the rest, I prepared a short video to explain the most important reasons for joining this programme offered in an exclusive partnership between Robert Kennedy College and the York St John University.

If you have any questions about the programme, feel free to get in touch with our educational advisers. You can apply online by clicking here.

MALIC Residency April 2016 in York #malic #malic2016

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It seems that every time I write a blog post I am either on a plane, a train, or other means of transport, but somehow this is the best time to write about and reflect upon the recent events. Reflective thinking is important not only for our students, as an invaluable tool for learning, but for everyone really, whether a MALIC student or not.

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Cross-cultural exchanges

At the end of a week charged with exchanges and thoughtful discussion, I am coming to terms with the fact that these 20 brilliant individuals I finally got to meet in the flesh after one or two years of online interactions are now going back their own separate ways, richer in experience, friends, and understanding of what the next stage, the dissertation, requires them to do. We have ended the week in a round-table discussion of their initial thoughts on the dissertation – some have a clear idea already, some are still looking for it. Sure, there are leadership, innovation and change issues everywhere, from government agencies to pharmaceutical commercialisation companies, and although their heart tells them what they’d like to do, we also need them to be pragmatic about it.
The group is a great mixture of geographical locations, from Colombia to New Zealand and Japan, and Zambia to … Glasgow, all in all 15 countries. But above all, an amazing variety of backgrounds, with school directors, health and safety professionals, IT security consultants, creative directors, and healthcare professionals to name just a few. at the risk of repeating myself, just an amazing group.

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Impressions from the MALIC residency

We have used this time together to collect some of their thoughts on the programme, on their experiences both online and on the residency, and we will be posting some of their thoughts as soon as the videos are ready.

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In the meanwhile, catch-up with the atmosphere via Twitter from the students directly – thanks for contributing guys and gals.

Stay tuned for the interviews, and as Erich says, see you in the Minster in 2017!

MALIC: Renewed partnership between YSJU and RKC

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Perhaps you have already heard of the York St John MA Leading Innovation and Change (MALIC). One of your business contacts may be a MALIC, or perhaps you are one yourself. There are many MALICs out there – a network of more than 600 professionals who all have one thing in common – they have obtained their degree from York St John University, online. To be more precise, in a blended-learning delivery, with a one week residency in York or Zürich, by virtue of our exclusive partnership with YSJU.

Partnership agreement between YSJ and RKC continues

I am very excited to report that we expect an increase in the number of MALICs: true to their common mission, YSJ and RKC have recently met at the highest level in order to renew their commitment to deliver MALIC at a global level, reaching people all over the world and allowing them to study while continuing their (most often full-time) jobs. Professor Karen Stanton, Vice Chancellor of York St John University, and David Chesser, Chief Operating Officer, met with Prof David Costa, Dean of Robert Kennedy College, Stefano Costa, CFO, and Prof David Duffill, Deputy Dean, and officially signed the agreement.

YSJ - RKC - MALIC Signing

With graduates in over 100 countries, MALIC is one of the largest global Master programmes, and we are very excited about being able to increase these numbers and thus do our little bit in improving the overall quality of leadership in the work place.

Reflection session

Reflection session during the September 2015 residency in York

Whether it is at one of our York or Zürich residencies, or at graduation in the most impressive York Minster, it is always humbling to meet our students in the flesh – CEOs, senior managers, junior managers, serial entrepreneurs, vice-presidents – and yet they all went back to school, with a deep desire to improve and learn. For that, hat off!

YSJ Graduation Day with RKC students

Why MALIC?

Sometimes I ask my students, when they start their first module, what made them join the programme. For many it was the desire to understand why projects fail, how to be a better leader, how to deal with a difficult boss, or simply because they never had the time to go to school before life took over! And one of the most rewarding experiences is to receive, every now and again, an email that talks about life after MALIC (although sometimes it is also about life during MALIC).
“One of my critical learning points was the MALIC program was instantly transferable and immediately relevant, the course has had a dramatic impact on how I operate within different cultures. My appreciation and awareness of how people respond, react and need empathetic leadership styles in varying cultures has been tremendous.” – Simon
“Besides being a farmer I teach in AICAT (Arava International Centre for Agricultural Training). We bring 700 agricultural students from the Asian countries over for a 10-month, hands-on experience. I teach Agro-economics and Agro-entrepreneurship and from day one of my studies [in MALIC] I began using my newly gained knowledge, such as Schein’s Cultural Understandings and Kotter’s Eight Stages of Leading Change. The best part of the online experience was the interaction with other students. Same books, same articles, same questions but such diverse answers and understandings from fellow students; culture galore on the RKC forums.” – Eyal
 “My study at RKC has deepened my insight into the different antecedents of innovation and successful change that need to be strengthened in my work and working environment. It has boosted my concern for people. It has enabled me to respect others’ perspectives, even seek contrary or novel views and value the contributions people can make no matter what their status in the organisation.” – Pius
Don’t think it is all milk and honey though – studying online is challenging, albeit rewarding. You need strong time management skills and discipline, but with proper support achieving an academic degree while working is doable. You get support from us, as academics, and from our amazing StudentCare team, but we found that, perhaps most importantly, the best support comes from your peers, your colleagues who are experiencing the same challenges and conversations. Eyal and Pius, above, have met at the residency in York after taking a few classes online together, and I’ve never seen a bigger hug than these two big guys shared.

So, one might say we have done well so far – we will strive to do even better, and perhaps, who knows, if you are not a MALIC yourself, the time has come to become one! With a new, modular approach, in which you can build your programme in a module by module approach, there has never been a better time to learn! If you want to learn more about MALIC, have a look at our MALIC website and request a catalogue – our admissions team will also be happy to answer any questions you may have.

HSBC 3Q Earnings Boosted 33% to 6.1 billion by Lower Fines, Settlements

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HSBC Holdings Plc offset a drop in third-quarter revenue with lower costs and litigation charges as Europe’s largest lender said it needs more time to determine whether to move its headquarters from London.

Operating costs fell 19 percent to $9 billion from a year earlier, London-based HSBC said in a statement on Monday. That beat the $9.4 billion estimate of 14 analysts in a company-compiled survey. Revenue slipped 4.4 percent to $15.1 billion, while pretax profit rose to $6.1 billion from $4.6 billion a year earlier.

More on the Dean’s interview on Bloomberg Television:

Dr. David Costa is the author of “The Art of Banking: Dominate the Banking Landscape” and lectures in the area of Investment Law and Money Management in our MBA, MA and LL.M programmes offered Online in an exclusive partnership between University of Cumbria and Robert Kennedy College. We have just started a new intake on these programmes and places are very limited so make sure to apply as soon as possible to secure your place.

Graduation in York

Are you ready to write a Masters’ dissertation?

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It’s Sunday afternoon, and as I sit on the train taking me to Geneva airport, I run through a mental list of things to do during the week. I am headed to York, and more precisely, to York St John University.
I am not the only one headed there – thirty more individuals, from all corners of the world (South Africa, South Sudan, Nigeria, UK, Australia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ecuador, Chile, Malaysia, Croatia, UAE, the Netherlands, US, to name just a few) are headed the same way. They are all students in the MA Leadership, Innovation and Change, affectionately known as MALIC, that we at Robert Kennedy College have been running with our partners York St John University so successfully over the past 4 years. One of the RKC students arriving in York this time around is the 600th one to do so since 2011!
Monday morning, 9am – hellos and good mornings all around – recognising some faces from the online profiles – being surprised by others, who are bigger, smaller, younger, older, funnier or more serious than their online personas led me to think.
Monday morning hellos

A week of exchanges and meeting new people

They all have one thing in common though: they are here to learn, and to achieve what for many of them is still a dream for now: a British Master while keeping down their full time jobs in their countries. They are here to work on their dream – the team of lecturers from YSJ are going to take them on a learning journey throughout the week, from the very basic to the very complex issues, with a focus on developing their dissertations. One can see, and sense, a certain anxiety in the air – it is the uneasiness of dealing with the unknown, of not knowing what we do not know. By Friday that will be replaced by a different type of feeling, perhaps expectation and perhaps slight apprehension, for by then they will know more about what they do not know, and realise there is much more to learn still!
Thursday afternoon, 4:30pm – a short debriefing session – the team had shared on Monday their hopes and fears – how many of those have been realised or avoided? …and we are almost through.

Hopes and fears

Hopes and fears

There have been four days of learning, discussions, group work, group fun, and group interaction. Interviews, facilitation, data analysis, coding, socialising and after-hours – these guys (and gals) have spent 4 days that have brought them so much closer than any online experience could. Some speak about that – it feels alone studying online – we want more video conferencing, more interaction – we want more real! Yet they also agree that we have to work within the contraints of what our lives allow us to do while keeping an income and taking care of a family. Perhaps as technology evolves, we will be able to make online education even better – but that is for another day.

Friday morning discussions

Friday morning discussions

Friday morning – we have been building up towards this. Around each table a group of students and a tutor discuss their dissertation ideas, looking for that all elusive “perfect research question”. There is no such thing in reality, and each idea is different. “Our role, both as tutors and peers, is to expose any hidden assumptions and risks that you may not have seen,” I tell them. We keep coming back to our mantra “focus, focus, focus” – “be pragmatic, pick something that is doable, even though you may not be able to save the world” – that too is for another day!
As always, the week has passed by in a haze of ideas, questions, emotions and names and faces that have become more familiar now. I’ll be recognising them as they pass across the stage in the York Minster on graduation day, looking all proud and excited in their graduation gowns. Until then, I have graduation 2015 to look forward to, with 120+ students set to come – how exciting!
Graduation in York

Graduation in York

YSJ’s graduation ceremony must be (and I’m trying to be objective here) one of the most memorable experiences ever – I’ve lived a couple of them so far from the tutors’ “bench” – I can’t begin to imagine what it feels like as a graduate! I may just have to do a degree with YSJ myself just to get that side of the story too!

Graduation in the Minster

Graduation in the Minster

It’s Saturday, and I’m back on the plane towards Geneva, finishing writing up my week’s journal – reflection, as they’ve all been told during this week (and told, and told, and told again), is a crucial part of learning – some have promised to take up the habit of reflecting and journaling – we’ll check on that at graduation. They have come here from all over the world, thirty individuals, and they are leaving York as a group, richer in friends and knowledge and motivation. Are they ready to write a Master’s dissertation? Time will tell, but we are confident they are.
See you at graduation guys!

Why an online MBA, LL.M and MA?

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As many of our readers are asking what makes our online Masters programmes stand out from the rest, I prepared a short video to explain the most important reasons for joining an online MBA, LL.M or MA programme offered in an exclusive partnership between Robert Kennedy College and the University of Cumbria.

If you have any questions about our programmes, feel free to get in touch with our educational advisers. You can apply for our programmes online by clicking here.

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