Business Impact 2024 | Volume 21 cover story: Poised for impact

The moment José Esteves joined Porto Business School (PBS) as dean in 2023, he felt that the school had “sustainability in its DNA” and an established mindset for generating impact.

“When I arrived, I was surprised at how sustainability-oriented the school already was. For example, there is a natural lake where the school recovers rainwater and an organic farm where students and staff can produce vegetables. Even the way the building was created, using local materials and so on, is something other schools now aspire to, but PBS had this already; they just didn’t perceive how important it was,” he confides.

As part of his efforts to rebrand the school, Esteves was therefore drawn to add BGA accreditation to its existing AMBA accreditation. “I didn’t have to change the mindset of the people or the culture,” he explains, adding that his focus has instead been on “maximising the value of what the school has done”. These ambitions resonated strongly with the mission and values of BGA. “When I saw BGA, I knew it aligned perfectly with what we wanted to transmit.”

The business school of the University of Porto, Portugal’s second-largest institution by number of enrolled students, PBS was established in 1988 by a group of the country’s business leaders. “It’s not a traditional business school that emerged within a university,” Esteves reveals. “[These leaders] wanted a business school in Portugal that focused on leadership and having an impact on society, so that also fits with one of the pillars of BGA.”

Lifelong learning, too, is an integral component of the school’s outlook and operations. “Around 40 per cent of our students return to continue with their education,” Esteves says, with regards to all levels of education on offer at PBS. “We try to show them the different parts of our portfolio and outline the benefits from a career perspective.

“We also provide special offers to do continuity electives, for example, even within the MBA programmes,” he continues. “In addition, when people study here they sometimes bring other people from their companies because we can provide them with discounts. There’s a whole mechanism of incentives at work to facilitate upskilling and reskilling.

Group-based learning initiatives

In its programmes, PBS has been working on infusing more social interactions into its teaching. “Something we found is that the more group‑based the learning experience is, the higher the level of engagement.” In this, Esteves has been able to draw on his background and expertise in gamification. “Gamification is not about points; it’s about finding how you can persuade people to act – it’s the call to action.”

The PBS dean then describes how this can help inform a school’s pedagogy. “A lot of people want to become more social, that’s why Facebook games are so popular. It’s not just because people want to play as an individual, it’s the social aspect. We are trying to bring this kind of collaborative dimension to the learning experience. It’s not about content, it’s more about the approach.”

One case in point is the PBS Board Fellows, which is set to get up and running in September as an MBA elective. The initiative provides students with the opportunity to join an NGO’s management board for six months as a non-executive member, where they attend regular meetings and work on a project with the support of a mentor. Its aim is to give students the chance to contribute to the development and success of NGOs and the communities they serve.

While in-company consultancy projects are not uncommon at MBA level, the tilt towards the third sector, where resources are often all too scarce, is an intriguing move for its potential to yield societal impact and benefits for both sides. “As a student, it’s about how you can use your expertise to contribute to that NGO. You learn about corporate governance and how a board of directors works, but you give back with your knowledge; it’s a win-win experience,” Esteves enthuses.

The move comes at a time when the PBS dean senses a change in the wind with respect to the types of careers sought by MBAs: “Sometimes they don’t think about NGOs because of salaries, but we were pleasantly surprised when students told us that they really want to contribute. I don’t know if it is because of the Covid pandemic or just the current state of the world but honestly, I think it’s the right moment to do more on this.”  

Esteves’ outlook on this topic extends to the type of candidate the school seeks to enrol: “The traditional consulting and finance perspectives are still good, of course, but we want people with different values in addition to those.” One example is a renowned music director currently enrolled at the school, whose work managing 200 members of an orchestra has brought useful insights to the class. “It’s a good example of how you can connect arts with soft skills,” the dean reasons, as he recalls the student’s contributions to discussions around managing complex teams in the context of the high levels of perfectionism and various egos one invariably finds in a leading orchestra.  

To read and/or download the full article, please see Business Impact Issue 3 | 2024 | Volume 21