Long gone are the days when students would only turn to the UK or the USA for their higher educational needs or for further studying. Students now have access to the globe for a world class education wherever they go. With so many different options to choose from, international boundaries have become blurry and students are going abroad more and more frequently to new and unique places in the world to get a quality education. One such institution is the Acsenda School of Management, hidden away in the most beautiful British Columbia province of Canada.
What Acsenda is All About
The Acsenda School of Management, located in the vibrant city Vancouver, is a private educational institute which offers students both undergraduate degrees along with diplomas for various career opportunities in the future. The uniqueness of this private school results in the fact that contrary to most large public universities catering to more than a thousand students per class even, at Acsenda the classroom sizes are much smaller. This personalised touch is in order to support every student’s own developmental and educational needs.
It is this very uniqueness that draws international students from world over to Acsenda School of Management for a personalised educational experience. With many management courses to select from, Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) has been the most popular since its inception in 2004. The degree ranges from courses on marketing, human resources management, international business, accounting, and management. In 2014 the Bachelor of Hospitality Management was also added to Acsenda with international internships.
With a strong focus on management related degrees, the natural career progression from this institute relate careers in business and management for students. Such a specialised and focused university on student personal development, one wonders the importance of a niche market for such tailored educational institutes for students in the market. Take the top universities in the UAE as an example. Even though the universities in the UAE are at a growth stage and still under development, they focus on similar principles of providing attention to all students with smaller lecture halls and more quality interaction with a better teacher-to-student ratio.
How Can the Acsenda Model Be Replicated at UAE Universities?
- Focus strongly on the student future career development opportunities
It is crucial for a university to educate students while also helping them get ready for the future. At Acsenda a student’s future development is extremely important with support on gaining relevant work experience and earning credits as you work towards your degree. This is something crucial for universities world over, you need to invest in your student’s future careers just as much as the academic journey.
- Flexibility in terms of academic year dates
One element unique to Acsenda relates to the fact that you can join the institute during multiple months, not only September/October as is the case with most universities. The flexibility of starting university in fall October, winters January, spring April or even summers in July is something that can help out so many students giving them more choices. The ability to take breaks during the year with a well placed semester structure can allow students to opt for more work experience opportunities, building their CV along the way.
- Smaller number of students in a classroom- build a community
This last and most important point cannot be emphasised enough, especially keeping in mind the example of the Acsenda School of Management. The Acsenda belief is that a thousand seat lecture hall is not a classroom, it is a venue. Small classes result in big ideas and that is what the school focuses on as part of its vision. It is often hard for students to be ‘just another number’. Being valued and made a true part of an institution can motivate students to work harder, feeling a part of the community. With smaller classroom sizes, students can get all the extra help and attention they require in order to excel.
With so many academic examples to learn from, universities in UAE are doing their best to meet their western counterparts. A great way to do this is to constantly strive for improvement and learn from your counterparts on how to improve your own educational systems.