June 8, 2010

The iPad has been an instant hit for millions of consumers following its recent launch. It has also been a great success in the IMD classroom.

“After having piloted the iPad in a partnership program with Allianz Global Investors at the beginning of May, I am convinced that this device will revolutionize executive education,” stated IMD Professor Bettina Büchel. “The feedback from IMD Faculty, staff and the participants was overwhelmingly positive.”

“We’ve been looking for a way to become paperless at IMD for a long time,” said Dr Iain Cooke, IMD Chief Technology Officer. “Over the past 18 months we’ve evaluated several different pieces of hardware, e-book readers and tablet computers, but we never found anything that fully met the needs of our participants until the iPad. In the few months since the iPad was launched, IMD has deployed iPads in three programs. We are one of the first business schools to implement the iPad in the classroom.”

iPads will also be used in IMD’s Orchestrating Winning Performance (OWP) program, which takes place from June 20 -25. OWP is IMD’s largest program – it is expected to draw over 400 international executives and also features the support of the majority of IMD’s Faculty members. Rather than being handed up to 1,000 pages of printed documents, each participant will receive all their information on the iPad. The iPad will also serve as a valuable communication and networking tool for all involved in the program.

“For OWP in particular, the iPad gives clear benefits for both participants and IMD,” explained Professor Büchel, who co-directs the program. “We save on the costs and logistics of printing and distributing the documents, and our participants have it all available in a far lighter and smaller package.”

According to Dr Cooke, the iPad offers much more than just convenient access to documents. “It scores well on the basics: screen quality, battery life, intuitive and fast user interface. But as a powerful networked computing platform, it has the potential to enable significant changes. We are taking the first steps with integrating personal communications and networking support, and looking at providing multimedia material within programs as well.”

“We are still in the discovery phase,” Professor Büchel added. “IMD aims to be at the forefront of innovation. Smart use of the iPad is one way to enhance our teaching and increase the value we bring to our participants. This can be done by linking real-time information with material such as cases taught in the classroom or by using technology to enable a virtual behavioral experience. The applications developed for executive education are just in the starting blocks.”

“Pioneering use of a new technology brings many challenges,” concluded Dr Cooke. “But new technologies can open up opportunities for dramatic improvements when those challenges are overcome. This class of device has great potential for consumers and business as well as in education.”

Learn more about the challenges and opportunities in the following  article.