INDIANAPOLIS (Inside INdiana Business) — The Kelley School of Business at IUPUI says recent changes to its evening MBA program are all about “continuous improvement.”

Kyle Anderson, faculty chair for the program, says the curriculum needs to match ongoing changes in the business community, including the needs of employers. Some of the changes include switching to an intensive, 24-month program and adding a new course in business innovation and disruptive technology. 

In an interview on Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick, Anderson said the program can really serve as a talent pipeline.

“We’re trying to fill that talent shortage that we have in central Indiana with great, talented people,” said Anderson. “One of the design features of our program is we’re really trying to blur the line between the classroom, the community and the workplace and so we’re going to have our students out with businesses, working there, getting real hands-on experience and it’s great for both our students and for the businesses we’re working with.”

Anderson says the new course adds to the cornerstone of an MBA, which is innovation and technology.

“Every business manager, owner, anyone in the board room is going to have to deal with a lot of change over their career and so we’re going to teach what new technologies are affecting business now, but also how companies and managers can position their companies for the future change.”

Anderson says one of the main reasons for the change came from feedback from the business community, which said while MBA students have a lot of technical skills, but many still need management skills. He says the program adjusted its executive skills to reflect that need.