Redefining business school learning & teaching transformation

The term ‘transformation’ is frequently invoked in discussions about the future of higher education in the UK, particularly when addressing responses to digital disruption, shifting student expectations, and the broader demands of a knowledge-based economy. Yet, closer scrutiny reveals that ‘transformation’ often serves more as a rhetorical gesture than a strategic reality. Despite widespread calls for change, many Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) remain structurally tethered to 20th-century models of leadership, delivery, and governance. In this piece, we argue that genuine transformation in UK HEIs demands not only the adoption of new technologies or pedagogies, but a fundamental reimagining of leadership purpose, academic culture, and institutional agility.  

In response to this shift, the Edinburgh Business School (EBS) at Heriot-Watt University (HWU) is committed to future-oriented, accessible, and practice-based education – this is central to EBS Ambition 2030. The Learning and Teaching Transformation Project (LTTP) was a once-in-a-decade opportunity to shape the strategic direction of on-campus learning and teaching. It exemplifies this ambition by turning rhetoric into reality - embedding real-world application, data analytics, work-integrated learning, and global accessibility. Its goal is to prepare learners not only to know, but to do, adapt, and lead in today’s rapidly evolving environment. By rethinking business education through flexible pathways, industry-informed curriculum design, and practical skill development, the LTTP demonstrates meaningful transformation in action. It also responds to wider forces reshaping higher education - financial pressures, the pandemic and cost-of-living challenges, and the evolving labour market driven by AI and sustainability. This article reflects on our strategic and responsive approach to learning and teaching transformation within a global business school context.

Project process 

The LTTP was an 18-month journey, moving through a series of stages that combined strategic intent with deep engagement from staff, students, and partners across the EBS community. These stages are illustrated in Figure 1.  

Meaningful consultations leading to successful outcomes  

The consultation process for the LTTP proved invaluable in shaping its direction and outcomes. From the outset, there was a strong recognition of the need to draw on the disciplinary and pedagogical expertise of staff across all campuses and to ensure they felt an integral part of the project. The combination of face-to-face departmental consultations and an anonymous school-wide survey was particularly effective, allowing colleagues to engage in open discussion while also providing a safe space for more candid views. These in-person meetings fostered a sense of inclusion, collaboration, and shared purpose, while the anonymous survey ensured that all voices could be heard, regardless of confidence or role. This approach generated honest, constructive, and thoughtful feedback, giving staff genuine ownership of the project. Equally valuable were the consultations with students, alumni, and employers, which offered complementary insights into learner experience, graduate outcomes, and industry needs. Collectively, these diverse perspectives created a strong evidence base for underpinning meaningful, credible, and sustainable transformation across the business school. 

Unified school vision with flexibility for departmental adaptations

 A key achievement of the LTTP was successfully balancing a unified School vision with the flexibility required to accommodate the distinct needs of each department. With three departments within the business school, it was essential to recognise disciplinary differences while still working towards shared goals. The structure of having two Project Redesign Leads (PRLs) per department proved highly effective, enabling each team to review their own on-campus, credit-bearing provision across the Edinburgh, Dubai, and Malaysia campuses. Guided by Heriot-Watt University’s Graduate Attributes and Curriculum Framework, alongside EBS’s own educational principles, the project focused on four strands: Portfolio, Curriculum, Assessment, and Pedagogy. In plenary sessions, departmental PRLs shared findings to inform collective reflection and alignment. This structured yet flexible approach balanced breadth and depth, ensuring coherence without imposing uniformity. Staff valued the departmental-level focus in the consultation stage, which respected disciplinary identity and avoided a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, ultimately generating richer insights and more meaningful, context-specific recommendations for change. 

Balancing global vision with local relevance

The LTTP has reinforced the commitment of EBS to a globally aligned yet locally responsive model of education. Across our campuses in Edinburgh, Dubai, and Malaysia, the consultation process with academic staff revealed a shared aspiration to embed the Ambition 2030 strategy within a cohesive academic framework – one that celebrates diversity while maintaining a unified standard of excellence. Global alignment provides the structure through which academic rigour, graduate attributes, and educational principles remain consistent; and local relevance ensures that pedagogy, industry engagement, and assessment practices resonate within distinct cultural and regulatory landscapes. This equilibrium transforms our approach from replication to adaptation – creating programmes that uphold Heriot-Watt’s international reputation while addressing the specific needs of regional markets and learners. In doing so, EBS advances a model of transformation that is globally coherent, locally informed, and purposefully future-ready, strengthening our position as a benchmark for transnational education excellence.   

Transformational leadership in practice-oriented business education

The LTTP demonstrated that authentic leadership extends beyond coordination - it is about empowerment. The Project Leader and Head of School embodied the essence of transformational leadership (Bass and Avolio, 1994), fostering a culture where PRLs were not merely managed, but inspired to grow into autonomous leaders. Through Idealised Influence, they modelled professionalism and vision, cultivating trust and respect across campuses. Their Inspirational Motivation connected diverse academic teams around a shared commitment to reimagining business education. By fostering evidence-based plenary discussions, they cultivated intellectual stimulation - encouraging critical reflection, challenging conventional thinking, and upholding the highest standards of academic integrity. Above all, individualised consideration ensured that each PRL’s strengths were recognised, nurtured, and strategically developed. This approach not only enhanced confidence and creativity but also built leadership capacity for sustained transformation. Several PRLs have gone on to hold leadership positions within the school, and it is this leadership that will effect the change. In terms of embedding the outcomes of the project, identification of those who will lead that process is critical, as is building a ‘constituency of support’ around them.  This represents a leadership model that aligns ambition with action - one that empowers individuals to contribute meaningfully.

References 

Bass, B.M. and Avolio, B.J. (1994) ‘Improving organizational effectiveness through transformational leadership’, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.