Carey Business School’s Executive Education Program Shares Insights and Innovations with Industry Peers

In December, Carey Business School’s Executive Education program hosted the UNICON Team Development Conference to discuss current trends across the lifelong learning industry. Providers of executive education from universities around the world participated in the conference to exchange insights and best practices, and to discuss recent developments in the industry. This year’s conference focused on building a sustainable, flexible, and adaptable lifelong learning ecosystem fit for the future of work.

UNICON is a global consortium of business‐school‐based executive education organizations, which Carey Business School joined in 2019. Through participation in UNICON, member organizations gain knowledge, inspiration, and new perspectives for enhancing the effectiveness of their operations.

Carey Business School was selected to host this year’s UNICON Team Development Conference in part because of the contributions of Johns Hopkins in efforts to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to developing practical solutions for diagnostic testing and therapeutics for COVID, the Johns Hopkins Global COVID Tracking Dashboard continues to provide real-time data on the pandemic’s spread and mitigation, which has become an invaluable resource for policymakers and news organizations around the world.

“The pandemic fundamentally shifted how executive education operates with many schools having to quickly move their executive education courses online,” said Rick Smith, vice dean for education and partnerships at Carey Business School. “Since the start of the pandemic, Johns Hopkins has become a world-renowned authority on the COVID-related issues, which created a unique opportunity to let Carey Business School and the UNICON membership rethink our business at this time.”

Chris Myers, associate professor, and academic director of executive education at Carey Business School, facilitated each session of the three-day conference and helped frame each presentation with an emphasis on sustainability, flexibility, and adaptability.

A highlight of the conference was a presentation by Beth Blauer, associate vice provost for Public Sector Innovation at Johns Hopkins University and associate professor of practice at Carey Business School. Blauer is also executive director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Civic Impact and the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. She discussed the use of data in decision-making and policy building, and how organizational structures have mobilized change in higher education.

Stacey B. Lee, associate professor of practice at Carey Business School, led a discussion on the lasting impact that COVID-related laws and regulations will have on campus life. David Lefevre, director of the EdTech Lab at Imperial College Business School, and Charlotte von Essen, director of academic engagement at Insendi, also discussed executive education’s digital response to the pandemic.

Looking toward the future, Susan Cates and Mike Malefakis of Leeds Illuminate presented on sustainable business models in executive education. Specifically, they highlighted the growth in community building tools for cohort-based learning and tools to aid continuity and support between events for a more seamless and integrated student experience, no matter where the learner is accessing from. They also emphasized the importance of partnerships as a route to sustainable growth.

A detailed account of the UNICON Team Development Conference is available at the UNICON website.

The Carey Business School’s Executive Education program helps professionals of all backgrounds navigate today’s challenging and dynamic business world. The program is fully accredited and recognized throughout the business world as a leader in business education.