Here are five strategies to encourage these students to flourish in the rapidly changing business environment.

Encourage growth mindsets

Developed by Carol Dweck in her book, Mindset, a “growth mindset” is “based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts”. This can have a powerful impact on learning, as students can be taught to strive to continually improve rather than learning and restating the same knowledge over and over. Dweck refers to this as a “fixed mindset” where people are less likely to take risks, avoid challenges, and give up easily. Dweck’s research advocates for learning from failures, and business students need to be taught and develop this mindset.

Developing a growth mindset makes students more resilient, as they’ll be more likely to persevere in challenging situations. The British Psychological Society suggests that research shows that fostering a growth mindset significantly enhances student outcomes. Students who were taught the growth mindset  were 3% less likely to fall into the "poor performance threshold". In challenging fields such as business, it’s clear that having a growth mindset can improve outcomes and create more resilient students.

In order to develop a growth mindset, business students should be encouraged to take calculated risks, reflect on any failures as a learning experience and develop the confidence to innovate. Students should be in an environment where they can experiment with trial and error and have their confidence boosted by reflection and peer feedback.

Embrace experiential learning opportunities

Experiential learning is defined as hands-on experiences which allow students to apply theoretical knowledge such as internships, live case studies, business simulations and collaborative projects with established businesses.

For example, research by the University of Edinburgh found that students reported that “real life” aspects of a course made it “more meaningful”, and helped them “see” more value and purpose for their future life – both professionally and personally.

This shows the importance of implementing more practical components into courses. This can be achieved by partnering with local or remote businesses to offer practical internships to students or offering mentorships with industry experts, where students can learn insights from those already in business. For example, at Oxford Business College, our Business Innovation and Incubation Centre provides students, local businesses, and budding entrepreneurs with the tools needed to start a successful business, providing them with access to funding opportunities, mentors, and ideas for growth.

Integrate technology and AI into the curriculum

The growing role of technology, especially AI, in the current business landscape, is undeniable and students need to be able to understand and work alongside these developments in technology in order to innovate and stay resilient in today’s business world. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Survey in 2023 revealed that approximately 75% of the surveyed companies plan to adopt AI technologies, which is predicted to make a major impact on the future of work and entrepreneurship.

It’s undeniable that today’s business students need digital and AI skills. It’s important to proactively embrace emerging technologies, seamlessly transition to digital methodologies and utilise state-of-the-art technology solutions to foster innovation, make processes more efficient and achieve exceptional results. For example, through strategic investments in technology infrastructure, our OxBIIC programme empowers startups to leverage cutting-edge tools and platforms, accelerating their growth and positioning them at the forefront of industry evolution.

Helping students use data analysis software, AI-driven workspaces, and other modern business tools sets them up to be more resilient in the face of technological disruptions.

Encourage collaborative learning

The importance of collaboration in developing innovation and resilience in business students cannot be overstated. Working with diverse perspectives helps to build creativity and develops the ability to solve complex problems. Research from the Australian Journal of Teacher Education suggests that collaborative activities can improve course completion rates by up to 20%, as students feel more supported and accountable​.

Putting students into group projects which blend business knowledge with technology and problem-solving helps create this collaborative environment where students are able to learn together and support each other. Collaborative problem-solving tasks can also develop peer learning, as well as student feedback forums where they give feedback on course content and help form it.

These innovations prepare students for a globally connected, fast-changing workforce where they are ready to work with a variety of perspectives and people.

Provide mentorship and industry connections

Mentorship is valuable no matter what stage of business you are in, and particularly helps business students learn how to be more resilient and develop entrepreneurial thinking. Mentorship can help students navigate challenges, gain confidence, and refine new ideas.

It’s important to find opportunities to pair students with industry professionals who can support them at the beginning of their entrepreneurial journeys. Hosting networking events where students can make industry connections is also essential to help these students learn the importance of networking and find contacts which can help them begin their careers in business.

This builds resilience by offering students real-world guidance, encourages adaptability and creates innovation through expert advice.

These five strategies show the importance of encouraging business students to innovate and be more resilient. Business school educators need to focus on preparing students not only with technical skills and knowledge but also the mindsets and soft skills needed to thrive in an evolving business landscape. By embracing these strategies, educators can empower the next generations of business leaders to be both innovative and resilient in 2025 and beyond.

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