Climate change: business schools are adapting their programs to ensure that graduates blossom in today's evolving business environment.

• Author: Wood, Suzanne
• Position: SPONSORED SECTION: CONTINUING EDUCATION

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One of the newest courses at Raleigh-based N.C. State University's Jenkins MBA program draws on a system companies use to stimulate innovation. Creating Value Practicum was developed by Center for Innovation Management Studies, an academic-industry partnership within the Poole College of Management, home to the Jenkins program.

The center has collaborated with the college and university, but CVP is the first time it has co-designed a course for a degree program. Its instructors, Paul Mugge, executive director of CIMS, and Steve Markham, a Poole professor and CIMS faculty member, wrote the CVP textbook. They believe that the best way for companies to beat their competition is to create value, not manage existing assets. But many companies--or their employees--don't know how to do that. "The premise of our 'system,' and therefore this course, is that successful value creation is interdisciplinary, requiring organizations to work as a team rather than in silos to capitalize on new, potentially break through ideas and bring them to market," Mugge says. "Because this is a hands-on course, it gives students valuable experience by pairing them with a company or organization that needs help tackling a big-growth initiative such as creating a new product or spinning out a business line. For companies looking to enhance their innovation capabilities, this experience looks very attractive on a resume."

Employers want workers and applicants to possess relevant and industry-specific skills. One of the best ways for workers to meet those expectations is by earning a graduate business degree. Business schools statewide can make that happen. They've added new concentrations, MBA programs and "niche" master's programs that can be completed in less time than a traditional MBA. They make content relevant to today's business climate, and that includes where classes meet.

CVP students meet at The Frontier, Research Triangle Park's recently opened collaborative work space, not far from Jenkins' satellite campus. The Frontier, operated by Research Triangle Foundation, is the first stage of a revitalization plan that creates mixed-use space in the 50-year-old park. Foundation President Bob Geolas says The Frontier is "the largest open innovation" space in the country. Recent Jenkins MBA graduate Aaron Kirk, a technical marketing engineer at Sunnyvale, Calif.-based NetApp's RTP office and member of CVP's second class, recognized the classrooms benefits. "Being at The Frontier, I got to see these small businesses that interact and innovate on a daily basis. That was a great experience for me."

In addition to its MBA program, Elon University's Martha and Spencer Love School of Business offers a master of science in management degree with two concentrations: corporate communications and data analytics. The program has about 30 students and takes about a year to complete. The college also is preparing to open a master of science in accounting degree. "Companies want specialists," says Raghu Tadepalli, the business school's dean. "What they're saying is that not everyone needs an MBA. So the popularity of these master of science one-year programs will continue." He says they especially...