Yale SOM Deputy Dean David Bach has won the Ideas Worth Teaching Award, presented by the Aspen Institute’s Business and Society Program. Bach was recognized for “The End of Globalization?” a Global Network Course that brought together students from all over the world to consider the wave of nationalism that seemed to sweep the world in 2016 and its implications for the future of globalization. 

Offered in the first half of 2017, the course, presented in the small network online course (SNOC) format, examined the rise of populism and economic nationalism, the unexpected outcomes of the Brexit vote and the U.S. presidential election, radicalization and terrorism, and diminishing trust in institutions, among other topics. Students from throughout the Global Network participated in virtual discussions with Yale University faculty and experts from a variety of fields, including journalism, conflict studies, and economics. The course’s discussions were also made available to a larger audience through a series of Facebook Live events. 

The Ideas Worth Teaching Awards “celebrate curricula that bring to life the promise of meaningful work in business.” The award will go to 20 courses that showcase innovation in management education. In making its selections this year, the institute focused on critical social issues that impact business, including populism, water scarcity, and artificial intelligence.

 “Leading business schools rightfully take pride in teaching consolidated knowledge; however, this award recognizes experimentation and efforts to tackle current, consequential dynamics,” said Bach. “It also validates the concept of ‘networked learning,’ the idea that we gain greater analytical traction particularly on unfolding events if we bring together perspectives from across the world and disparate fields. That’s what we built the Global Network for Advanced Management for.”

“At a time when business leaders face intense scrutiny about their role in social issues, these award-winning faculty are bravely challenging the ‘norms’ of what is taught in business school—and creating leaders who can navigate a highly uncertain environment,” said Claire Preisser, associate director of the Aspen Institute’s Business and Society Program.

In “The End of Globalization?”, students worked in virtual teams to investigate the backlash against the global postwar order in their own regions, gathering information on public opinions on politics and business and assessing the potential risks for businesses from anti-globalization rhetoric and actions. The course culminated in a hackathon and a presentation at the Global Network Fifth Anniversary Symposium, at which students received feedback on their conclusions from former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Michael Warren, managing director of Albright Stonebridge. 

The Ideas Worth Teaching Award winners will be recognized at Working Towards Shared Prosperity: An Academic-Executive Dialogue, an event in Ann Arbor, Michigan on October 26-27 co-hosted by Aspen’s Business and Society Program and the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. Award winners were selected by Aspen Institute staff in consultation with Professor Bruce Buchanan of Stern School of Business, New York University; Professor Maureen Scully of the University of Massachusetts, Boston; and Dean Peter Tufano of Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.