PRME Launches Innovative Pilot Program to Advance the i5 Pedagogies

The Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) initiative of the UN Global Compact is delighted to announce the launch of a pilot initiative in collaboration with Sulitest, seeking to further advance our pedagogical development priorities through our Impactful Five (i5) project. This pilot program is set to propel our mission to equip future business leaders with holistic skills, laying the foundation for a world where business school educators prepare students to be the leaders of tomorrow through the application of the Impactful Five (i5) pedagogical approach.

The vision behind our project is to reimagine education and its role in shaping responsible, forward-thinking business leaders. In an era where the world faces unprecedented challenges, we believe that business leaders must be equipped with a comprehensive set of skills that go beyond traditional business acumen. Our i5 pedagogical approach is designed to empower students with the knowledge, skills, and mindset needed to drive positive change in the world. During the first year of the project, we developed the i5 pedagogy with the support of our partners at the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Project Zero and published the i5 Playbook. Seventeen pilot one members were selected to begin integrating the pedagogy into their classrooms across the globe, measuring their progress through assessment before the pedagogy was launched to the wider PRME community in June 2023.

Throughout the next phase of work, we will continue partnering with Sulitest to assess, reflect, and uncover participant experiences within the i5 journey.

The Purpose of the Pilot Program:

The second pilot within the i5 project is a collaborative qualitative exploration with the PRME community, aimed at assessing the impact of i5 within the individual pedagogical experiences of educators. To achieve this, we have devised a multifaceted approach to create an environment which promotes a collaborative exploration of i5 that can give further insights to assessing impact:

• Assess the impact of the i5 pedagogy through a process of connection, trainings, observations, surveys, and reflections to uncover insights in the personal and pedagogical development processes.

• Facilitate controlled environments to develop communities of practice within the i5 pilot cohort, allowing for connection through the relationship with creative and playful content and vulnerable reflection space.

• Explore collaborative structures through the lens of ethnographic research, which aims to understand and learn from the rich experiences of the educators with whom we will actively engage in the study and throughout the research process.

• Assess new data to glean insights that will help us enhance the assessment and development of the i5 pedagogy.

This innovative blend of quantitative and qualitative data will provide us with critical insights to enhance the assessment and development of the i5 pedagogy, making it more effective and impactful. Through this pilot, we hope to gain insights around the educators experience, their relationship with the framework, and the components that speak to their pedagogical preferences, disciplinary context, and institutional culture. Beyond the educator’s specific experience, we hope to tease out more nuanced themes of how the i5 impacts the student experience, classroom engagement, and skill set development.

Pilot Timeline:

The project timeline spans a full academic year, allowing for a comprehensive assessment. While adhering to key phases, we are flexible to accommodate the unique timelines and constraints of our collaborators. Educators participating in the program will teach two classes during the process, ensuring that the data collected is robust and meaningful.

Key Questions:

Throughout this pilot, we will seek to answer key questions that shape the future of i5 pedagogies:

• How are i5 pedagogies integrated into pedagogical practices?

• How do students receive and engage with i5 pedagogies?

The answers to these questions will not only shape the i5 project but also contribute to the broader discourse on responsible management education.

As we embark on this exciting journey with PRME and educators worldwide, we are confident that this pilot will mark a significant step toward realizing our vision of holistic, responsible business education. Together, we aim to cultivate the next generation of leaders who are not only skilled in business but also committed to driving positive social and environmental impact.

Thank you to our Participants

Participant selection from within the PRME community provided a robust collection of educators from around the world. We are fortunate to have many committed educators interested in completing this pilot phase, and we thank everyone who expressed interest at the 2023 PRME Global Forum.

Our present cohort of educators was selected based on rigorous and diverse criteria of gender, country, type of school, number of years of teaching, class size, and courses taught. Participants have not previously integrated i5 workshop trainings into their classrooms and will teach two in-person courses during AY 2023-24. We are grateful to these participants who commit themselves to ten months of research and observations, and for their network of local supporters and observers who will assist with observation and impact assessment in the physical classroom. Many thanks goes out to the members of this cohort

• Christy Ashley, College of Business, University of Rhode Island, USA

• Professor Manal El Abboubi,Université Mohamed V Rabat, Morocco

• Dr. Hadia Fakhreldin, Faculty of Business Administration, Economics & Political Science, The British University in Egypt, Egypt

• Dra. Victoria Gonzalez Gutierrez, Centro de Enseñanza Técnica y Superior (CETYS), México

• Erin King, Kemmy Business School, University of Limerick, Ireland

• Dr. Dušan Kučera, Prague University of Economics and Business, Czech Republic

• Clarissa Miranda, Foundation Antonio Meneghetti, Brazil

• Dr. Boidurjo Rick Mukhopadhyay, University of Winchester, United Kingdom

• Steve Smith, Farmer School of Business, Miami University, USA

Next Steps:

While participation in this pilot program is closed, we look forward to continuing our mandate to share the i5 work with educators from around the world. If you belong to a PRME Signatory business school and wish to get involved with upcoming workshop training or discussions, please visit i5.unprme.org to learn more about our upcoming engagement opportunities.

If you do not belong to a PRME Signatory school, please check out our website to learn how to join our global work towards advancing sustainable development!