Executive education designed to resonate in the real world.
Although known predominantly for its postgraduate-only focus, Cranfield University also offers executive education through Open Programmes, designed for anyone with some real-world experience. Regardless of whether you have academic qualifications or not, this portfolio of programmes enhances knowledge, provides tools, and builds skills and behaviours in all aspects of leadership and executive development.
Dr Paul Hughes, Director of Open Programmes, discusses the opportunities offered by Open Programmes for anyone needing support as part of their career development.
Who attends Open Programmes?
The programmes are open to anyone, whether they have been to university or not. Instead of looking at prior qualifications, we invest time to understand your experience and practical needs. We make sure we match you to the programme that will best impact you and your organisation, so that the course gives you exactly what you need. Our expert team explore both the individual and organisational learning and outcome objectives, and can advise on the most appropriate options – which are sometimes not the original programme of choice.
The important thing is that it is entirely self-referral, there’s typically no application process and you don’t need any existing qualifications. Occasionally, we might have a selection process, but that is simply to make sure that the programme is the right fit for the candidate.
We put a lot of effort into creating programmes that are relevant and that resonate with people. When someone comes to Cranfield to do a Masters that’s usually something they have been considering for some time, and they want to invest in the formal qualification as well as the learning.
With Open Programmes we also focus on helping people develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours they need for existing or future roles, but place a greater emphasis on practical application and less on the formal qualification. This might be in a specialist function or leadership skill areas, or development to support a significant career transition they are undertaking in their organisation, such as taking on a more senior role. So, if someone needs to operate with a new way of working, and needs practical and relevant new skills, tools, behaviours or knowledge, they, or their employer, come to Cranfield to find the best solution for that individual’s, and of course their organisation’s, needs.
What areas do the Open Programmes cover?
There are nearly twenty different programmes, and the portfolio includes many aspects of executive development. We offer programmes on leadership, management, SME business growth, sales, running projects, and supply chain management. We have programmes for early career professionals right up to the journey into the C-suite. Many of them are focused on those crucial transitions as people move upwards and sideways during their career.
The programmes are carefully constructed to provide the knowledge, skills, tools, and behaviour needed to transform mindsets and attitudes for success. Someone who finds themselves in a new role might need to work on all of these. Another person may have the skills or tools they need, and instead might need to concentrate on their mindset so they can adjust their behaviour to create the impact that gets the best out of others. So, bringing out the skills and knowledge they already have, but in ways that raise the performance of their teams.
For example, many modern organisations have adopted matrix team structures, so not just top down but instead teams from different areas or expertise coming together to work collectively in pursuit of a shared aim or goal. This means people can find themselves leading their peers, or even their seniors, which can be a challenge. That is the kind of real-world issue we help people to handle practically.
How are the programmes structured?
Our open programmes are either fully face-to-face, or a hybrid of in-person and virtual elements. The nature of the stretch we want to help people make means it often works best when we can get people together in a carefully constructed, psychologically safe environment. The role of the educator here is more the ‘guide at the side’, rather than the ‘sage on the stage’. This coaching and conversational style helps participants weave new understanding into their work in a practical way alongside their existing experience and skills.
There is also a great degree of learning from each other, something we strongly encourage as a valuable part of the experience. It’s often the discussions within the working groups that add most value. As they explore how to apply what they are learning, they start to not only learn from the facilitator’s practical expertise and experience but also begin to learn from one other.
In many of our open programmes participants will not know one another, and will come from different companies, industries and sectors. After two or three days sitting together, sharing and discussing their own circumstances, ideas and experience, they achieve deeper insights and understanding than can be achieved through traditional pedagogical teaching.
What’s incredible is that although we give them all the same information, each person will see a different way to apply it. They all apply it, they all improve, but they all do it in a way that meets their own individual needs. On our multi-modular programmes, when the participants return having applied what they’ve learnt, we talk about what works well, what doesn’t work so well and what they need to do next to take them a step further.
Overall, though, I think the most important thing is that after each session every individual will have gained knowledge, practical skills or tools, behaviours and the mindset shift needed to be able to go back and immediately create heightened impact in their daily role the very next day.
What happens at the end of the programme?
Our programmes are not award based, they’re about practical development and immediate real-world impact. At Cranfield we have our own IP, we have world-class faculty who deliver the programmes, and we provide good-quality learning material. If you are given good-quality material, you’re more likely to apply it practically. But practical skills are only one aspect; it is often the behavioural and mindset changes, developing a unique style of leadership and gaining the confidence to tackle new responsibilities and new challenges, where we see the biggest change.
All those who join one of our programmes also become a member of Cranfield’s distinguished alumni. This network offers ongoing insights, webinars, events, discounts and opportunities to connect with our global alumni.
What do you find most satisfying about delivering the Open Programmes?
Demystifying education and learning for people is hugely satisfying. Being able to tell them ‘if you have a need, we will help you’. In the modern workplace there is a lot of reskilling happening. If someone left school aged sixteen and never went to college or university, we welcome them and show them that they have every right to be here. Equally, if someone attended university previously, but now find what they learned is not relevant or out of date, we welcome them too. All have the right, and all are welcome, to come to Cranfield.
I also find it very satisfying to give people a confidence that makes all the difference to them, allowing them to move on, make progress and deliver impact. Many often choose to come back to Cranfield and carry on their learning when they face new challenges, because they know we will help them. It is also common for our participants to recommend others in the future, because they trust we can help them as well.
So, to summarise, for us it doesn’t matter what path you take in terms of how you learn – as long as you get where you want to be. The most important thing for me is being ready to play our part in helping people find their way along that journey.
Find out more about the Open Programmes from Cranfield School of Management by visiting the website.
A version of this article was first published in All Things Business | UK Business News Publication
