Innovation is the only constant in both life and business. For graduate students, it’s a necessary element of any successful degree program.
Innovation can come in many forms. They include the delivery of the program itself and the curriculum within the program. The key is that the best degree programs should always have an element of innovation, particularly in an era where technology continues to lead to massive changes in how business is conducted.
Here are some of the areas where innovation is playing a key role in shaping the future.
Higher Education
The biggest innovation in higher education is how programs are now frequently delivered in the form of online graduate programs. Overall, for both undergraduate and graduate programs, about 6.3 million students are taking courses online, according to U.S. News & World Report.
The reasons are many. Online courses cut the cost of traveling to and from campus – both in time and money. Students can plan study around their professional life. It’s opened the possibility to earn a graduate degree without stopping the rest of your life for year, making it a very attractive option for working professionals.
That’s just innovation in delivery of education. Anyone who wants to earn a Master of Arts in Leadership with a Higher Education Specialization also must understand new strategies for retaining students and providing better methods for recruiting students.
Organizational Leadership
The methods and strategies used in organizational leadership are changing rapidly. Students now must learn the cutting-edge tools and techniques provided by the application of data collection and analysis.
The real key is learning what to do with data, what situations it can most help improve and how data-driven decision-making is changing the way organizations are structured. It can impact everything from supply chain and staffing decisions to better customer service.
Business
For those looking into earning an MBA – especially one with a concentration on digital marketing – then innovation must be present in the degree curriculum. Marketing has radically changed with the emergence of reliable data analytics. Consumer behavior online, social media signals, WiFi analytics and online reputation management are just a few of the areas where innovation is leading to substantial changes.
While an MBA provides the foundation for success as a business leader, expertise in innovation prepares graduates to take on key roles in the future of business. Leveraging data, artificial intelligence and machine learning into every phase of business is something that is already happening. Students needs to be ready for this modern, global business world.
Healthcare
It’s impossible to take on a leadership role in healthcare in the 21st century without a firm background in innovation. Healthcare, while a mature industry, is both rapidly expanding as the country’s population ages and going through a revolution in how to provide better patient care while controlling costs.
Technology also plays a role. Pharmacies such as CVS are leading the way in incorporating analytics into their business. Hospitals use wearable medical devices to monitor a patient from long distance. Electronic healthcare records have opened the opportunity to share records across various medical services.
Innovation has always been a key component of any industry. But it’s becoming even more vital in an era where things can change in a remarkably short amount of time.
