Innovative Directions: Breaking New Ground
In the world of business, the only constant is change. This applies equally to business education. At UNC Kenan-Flagler, we are constantly pioneering new ways to immerse students in real-world experiences that enrich what’s taught in the classroom through interactive, personalized experiential learning. Your support will enable us to continue to break new ground in innovative approaches to education.
A New Century of Leadership
To prepare them for whatever tomorrow may bring, we’re rethinking, redefining and transforming business education.
We build upon our established strengths in teaching and research with new and original approaches to real-world and experiential learning, including an ever-growing array of cutting-edge technologies such as simulation, gamification, virtual reality and artificial intelligence. “The more we can maximize the use of technology to link intellectual experiences with emotional ones, the greater the impact on our students’ education — and their lives,” said Dean Shackelford.
One of our most exciting initiatives is using innovative technology to revolutionize learning. In March 2017, two faculty members traveled with M.B.A. student Tanyi Fuoching to his home country of Cameroon. The mission: to get footage for a groundbreaking virtual reality simulation in which students make a series of choices as part of their assignment to set up a new health-care outpost in a foreign country. Their decisions determine their level of success.
Virtual reality simulations like this one provide immersive real-life experiences that broaden students’ perspectives — without cost-prohibitive expenses.
The Business of Health Care
With a greater than $3 trillion spend each year, the U.S. health-care sector is equivalent to the fifth-largest economy in the world.
The sheer size and complexity of health care in the U.S. and in the larger global economy has created a critical need for innovation — to improve health outcomes and to minimize inefficiency. To address these challenges, UNC Kenan-Flagler launched a Business of Health Care initiative, a pan-University effort that draws upon the wide health sciences strengths across campus, including our top-ranked schools of pharmacy, public health, nursing, dentistry, medicine and business. “To my knowledge, there’s no other business school that has built bridges across campus with a medical complex and top-ranked schools that are as strong as ours to establish a business of health care that I believe can be second to none in the world,” said Dean Shackelford.
Through this initiative, UNC Kenan-Flagler seeks to prepare students for transformational careers in health care, equipping them with the vision and skills to effect continuous improvement in the delivery of health care. Through continued collaboration both within UNC and across many industry partners, UNC Kenan-Flagler will set itself apart as one of the top destinations for the business of health-care education and thought leadership. This initiative will allow Carolina to further distinguish itself as a place where cross-disciplinary collaboration flourishes in solving some of the biggest health-care challenges of our time.
