Thought Sparks Rethinking Higher Education with Rita McGrath and Ben Nelson
In this week’s Thought Sparks Podcast episode, Rita McGrath, a Columbia University Business School Professor, C-Suite strategist, business founder and best-selling author, speaks with Ben Nelson, Chairman and CEO of the Minerva Project, and Founder of Minerva University. They discuss the mission behind the Minerva Project: a university that prioritizes active learning, global perspectives, and impactful application of knowledge, and what it means to rethink what higher education could look like.
0:27: Introduction - Building the Intentional University
2:34: The 23-Year-Old CEO - Managing Stakeholders and Loneliness
3:43: The 29-Year-Old CEO - When Command-and-Control Leadership Thrives
6:40: Succession and Setting Up Your Future Organization for Success
8:38: Why “Socializing” A Decision is Ineffective
9:59: Ben Nelson’s Critiques of Education
11:22: The Retention Issue: How Would Present-Day You do on an Exam from your Undergraduate Days?
12:34: Minerva University’s Mission: Enabling Authentic Learning and Systems Thinking
16:24: The Qualities of Educational Systems Designed for a Different Era
19:27: Breaking Structures and Flipping Classrooms
20:46: Building Deep Processing Skills to Retain Knowledge
21:40: Measuring How Broadly Students can Apply What They’ve Learned
23:18: Living in Six Countries in Three Years of Study
27:52: Using AI Effectively to Inform Human Decision-Making
33:11: The Role of the University in Disseminating (and Interrogating) Knowledge
35:17: The Gaps in Project-Based Learning: When Do You Really Know How to Build a Bike?
38:08: Blockbuster, and Why the Case Method Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story
41:56: 1,000 Graduates, and Growing: Minerva Methodology in Universities and High Schools
49:59: The Chicken-and-Egg Conundrum of Founding a New University
52:40: When Do Some Universities Run the Risk of Becoming “Diploma Mills”?
56:44: “Read a Hundred Opinion Columns, and Disagree with Ninety-Five of Them”
Thought Sparks are the brainchild of Rita McGrath. They are insightful actions, strategic ideas, actionable suggestions and innovative approaches that help organizations and leaders master the future with less fear and more confidence.
New episodes of the Thought Sparks Podcast are released every other Tuesday at 11am Eastern.
Want to learn more about Rita’s ideas and hear more of her conversations with business leaders and innovators?
Listen to more Thought Sparks Podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Watch Thought Sparks episodes on YouTube
Connect with Rita on TikTok
Sign up for her Thought Sparks Newsletter on Substack.
Learn more about Rita, her books and ideas at RitaMcGrath.com