Oracle: The Executive Learning Workgroup (2004-2005)

In early 2004 Oracle, a long-time partner, approached Ultralab for assistance in establishing an event that would kick-start a conversation with leading business schools around executive education, in general, and pedagogy in particular. The result of the approach was the creation of the Executive Learning Workgroup which has now been running since May 2004 and is going from strength to strength.

The initial conversations held in Annecy, France, have proved so powerful that the group has met again in at London Business School (London), INSEAD (Fontainbleau),  IESE (Barcelona),  Sloan (MIT, Boston) and Nyenrode (Holland). Between meetings the group functions through  a phone conference  schedule and the use of an online wiki facilitated by me at Ultralab. The wiki, hosted and facilated at Ultralab, began as a short term solution to the provision of an online conversation space but continues to thrive after more than eighteen months. Along the way the group has experienced other web communication tools hosted by Ultralab including Oracle's Collaboration Suite and U-blog - Ultralab's fabulous team blog tool.

The scope of the group continues to expand and now encompasses business school and corporate members from:

• Ashridge Business School
• Cranfield
• EM Lyon
• Euromed Marseille
• IESE
• IMD
• INSEAD
• Judge Institute of Management Cambridge
• London Business School
• MIT
• Nyenrode
• Oracle
• Rolls Royce
• Ultralab
• Unisys

The initial focus of the group has swung from being one directed towards discovering about technology and new developments that might impact on their schools to an enquiry into aspects of executive learning pedagogy and how technology impacts upon the experience of the learner. The research agenda continues to expand with new group members joining regularly and the conversations being held are challenging and informative in equal measure. With several substantial collaborative papers due for publication soon and a substantial push to establish a new and innovative experience for high potential business executives the group is growing ever more secure.

The impact of the Executive Learning Workgroup is difficult to measure but one quote can illustrate the general feeling of members who are reporting that involvement has changed, and continues to change, their practice:-

“I have used so much of my experiences with the Executive Learning Workgroup to help my thinking in terms of how we move forward. It’s a high quality, focused group delivering informed debate, and it’s the mixture of Business Schools, technology and other thought processes, which makes it particularly powerful. I want to stay a part of it.”
                Avery Duff, Head of International Human Resources, Rolls Royce International, March 2006.

If you need more information or wish to be involved in the group please email: martin@ultralab.net