Supporting Innovation in Inland Waterway Management

Developing staff is a key way to look to address the challenges facing those working in inland waterway management.  The University of the Highlands and Islands specialises in supported online distance learning, allowing individuals to study and develop their skills to help address those challenges.

Transcript

1. Russell Thomson Head of Customer Operations
2. Scottish Canals University of the Highlands & Islands M.B.A. in Inland Waterway Management
3. • Limited opportunity to gain academic accreditation. • Limits academic achievement – limits organisations’ ability to develop and retain key and valued individuals. • Staff operate globally across the industry. • Expertise availability is also worldwide • Increasing pressures of work and family life. • Increasing budgetry constraints.
 Challenges
4. Opportunities • Utilise distance learning to offer academic accreditation to those entering the industry • Offer a structured process by which we could capture the significant sector specific knowledge held by existing staff. • Allows individuals the opportunity to study and develop their skills. • Improves our ability to retain key personnel. • Sharing Best Practice

5. Euan Black Head of School: Business Management & Leisure e: euan.black@uhi.ac.uk 
 b: http://www.managementschool.uhi.ac.uk/blog 
 t: http://twitter.com/UHIMgtSchool
6. • UHI working with the industry to develop a tailored MBA in Inland Waterway Management. • Develop high level of leadership and management skills in existing or potential Inland Waterway professionals • Programme to include common elements shared with other MBA programmes. • Development of two or three modules bespoke to the industry. Proposal
7. • Understanding contemporary management and leadership • Operations management • Strategic marketing • Entrepreneurial strategy and business growth • Management accounting and finance • The global business environment • Research project • Asset Management • Waterway Regeneration & Development Outline of modules
8. Programme structure • MBA is worth 180 credits • Standard content module is 20 credit • Research project is 60 credits • So six content modules with say 4 from the existing portfolio complimented by 2 specialist modules plus the research project gets us our specialist MBA
9. Applied programme • Programme designed for skilled and experienced professionals • Programme delivered by professionals (including where appropriate specialists in inland waterway management) • Assessment approach that links programme to professional practice • Programme fully online to fit with work and other demands
10. Project Criteria • Support ‘in principle’ of 5 Inland Waterway Organisations (3 outside the U.K) • 15 days input for each of the 2 specialist modules • 10 candidates annually • 10 days of curriculum input annually • £25K workup costs (Waterway Organisations, UHI, HIE)
11. Route to Delivery • 8 weeks for Waterway Organisations to feedback level of interest/perceived benefits/issues/their potential contribution (development and delivery). • November 2016 to Early 2017 dialogue with Waterway Organisations ‘focus group’ • April 2017 - Demand analysis with a wider group of worldwide organisations. • October 2017 - Formal proposal • Summer 2018 – inaugural MBA in Inland Waterway Management enrols.
12. Q&A