Carrington Peterson is studying for her Master’s in International Business at Hult International Business School (London campus). We spoke to her about the program’s unique course structure, focus on building cultural and emotional intelligence, and engaging faculty.
In these uncertain times, Hult was able to adapt its course structure to ensure its students are well-equipped to enter today’s ever-changing business landscape.
Carrington explains, “Every two weeks, a class changes. So, I start off taking leadership for two weeks and I solely focus on leadership, then I move to project planning and execution for two weeks, and then I move to marketing, and now I’m in data and decisions. I really respect Hult for this structure. With everything going on, I think it made more sense to do it this way, and it gives us an idea to have that scope on that one topic and really solidify our knowledge in that topic and then move on to the next and have a concrete understanding of the value of that subject so we can apply it to whatever skills – personal or professional – we may face.” (3:22)
With this fast-moving course structure, Carrington explains that it’s also up to the students to connect the dots: “I don’t know if it was Hult’s intention to have them all connect, but I do find myself personally connecting,” she says. “For example, the week before last I was enrolled in the marketing course, and this week, I’m analyzing data from a company and I have to identify solutions to make their sales increase and to see opportunities to where they can do better as a company – and by having the marketing knowledge that I gained from the past two weeks, I’m able to…make my solution that I develop more concrete and more stable because I have that knowledge that I gained two weeks ago.”
“[In] the end, it’ll be rewarding to see all the knowledge that we learned and how we can apply it into the professional world.” (4:39)
“The teachers at Hult – their greatest intention is for you to succeed,” Carrington says. “I do think it comes down to the teacher but also the student, just like in [baseball]: it’s the pitcher as well as the catcher. You have to work together as a team to reach your goal and everyone wants to succeed.”
Describing their teaching methods, Carrington says, “The teachers at Hult are really good with providing great visuals – I’m a visual learner – so having, for example in marketing, bringing dog food to the class to show you that one brand and a different brand have the same ingredients but because of their brand awareness, one might be better or viewed better [than the other] – showing me physically the power of branding. That’s a technique that I had never experienced, just by simply bringing in dog food. It’s really the little things.”
With classes moving online, Carrington is glad that her professors continue to bring lots of energy in order to keep their students engaged. “We all have the same condition,” she says. “We’re going to school in a pandemic, [and] here we are fighting through the battles and succeeding to be on top.” (13:39)
Because the program brings students from around the world, working in teams helps students build cultural and emotional intelligence, Carrington claims. “For example, my team consists of a guy from Amsterdam, a girl from Asia, a guy from Germany, so we’re all a mix of fun and spice to bring to the table,” she explains. “It challenges you, it lets you identify your strengths and weaknesses because, as a team, you may operate differently than you do individually.” (6:19)
