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Dr. Stefan Zagelmeyer, Reader in Comparative and International Business at Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS), has extensive experience in international higher education and research. He leads multiple programmes at AMBS and serves as the Teaching & Education representative on the executive board of the Academy of International Business UK and Ireland. He is member of the organizing team of the AIB UKI Sustainable International Business Global Poster Competition (https:\/\/www.aib-uki.org\/poster-competition.html<\/a>).<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/h3>\n\u00a0<\/h3>\nReimagining Pedagogy for Global Challenges<\/h3>\n
Reimagining Pedagogy for Global Challenges<\/h3>\n
Higher education faces growing demands to deliver teaching that is academically rigorous, practically relevant, socially responsible, and responsive to global challenges. Institutions and educators are therefore exploring innovative formats that can prepare students for the complex, multi-stakeholder environments they will encounter after graduation.<\/p>\n
Posters have gained recognition as an effective way of combining academic analysis with creativity and communication. They require students to synthesise complex ideas into clear, visually engaging formats that can be shared with peers, instructors, and wider audiences. In doing so, posters help students develop critical skills in knowledge integration, design, and oral presentation, while also fostering collaboration and dialogue.<\/p>\n
Poster competitions extend this format by situating learning in applied, participatory contexts. Competitions provide students with opportunities to present work to external audiences, benchmark against peers, and receive feedback. They also create platforms for educators to exchange good practice and for universities to showcase innovation.<\/p>\n
Since 2024, the Academy of International Business UK & Ireland<\/a> (AIB UKI) has hosted the Sustainable International Business Global Poster Competition<\/a> \u2014 endorsed by UNCTAD<\/a> and PRME<\/a> \u2014 as a global initiative to reimagine how students, educators, and businesses can co-create solutions for sustainability. The competition provides a compelling case study of how poster pedagogy can become a transformative learning tool.<\/p>\n Poster pedagogy combines research, communication, and creativity in ways that mirror academic and professional practice. Posters require students to distil complex analysis into concise, visually engaging formats that can be defended in dialogue with peers, faculty, and external stakeholders.<\/p>\n The approach draws on constructivist, experiential and critical learning traditions by combining knowledge construction, collaboration, reflection, and real-world problem-solving. Posters also embody critical pedagogy by encouraging students to interrogate \u201cwicked problems\u201d and develop transformative solutions. They provide a pedagogical tool which is particularly effective for engaging students with the UN Sustainable Development Goals<\/a> (SDGs).<\/p>\n Launched in 2024, the AIB UKI Sustainable International Business Global Poster Competition<\/a> has rapidly become a flagship initiative in responsible international business education. It provides a flexible framework for embedding posters into teaching which can be used across disciplines. Open to students at all levels \u2014 bachelor\u2019s, master\u2019s, MBA, and doctoral programmes \u2014 the competition challenges teams to design research-driven posters that explore how international business organisations can contribute to the SDGs.<\/p>\n Student teams select one of four analytical pathways:<\/p>\n Submissions must be analytically rigorous, visually compelling, and practically relevant. Posters may be embedded in coursework or developed independently, offering instructors flexibility in their use.<\/p>\n The competition\u2019s philosophy is to empower three groups:<\/p>\n This model creates a global learning ecosystem that links classrooms with boardrooms, advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.<\/p>\n For submission deadlines, teaching resources, sample posters, and details about the organising team and partners, visit: https:\/\/www.aib-uki.org\/poster-competition.html<\/a>. The AIB UKI poster competition builds on pioneering work at Rotterdam School of Management led by Prof. Rob van Tulder, who also provides practical guidance, templates, and SDG poster examples on the following teaching support site: https:\/\/www.principlesofsustainablebusiness.nl\/posters\/sdg-posters\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n Poster competitions deliver benefits at multiple levels:<\/p>\n To reach their potential, poster competitions must be carefully designed and supported:<\/p>\n The AIB UKI competition demonstrates how these challenges can be overcome. Students are supported by tools such as the Better Business Scan<\/a> while educators benefit from shared teaching materials and an expanding international community of practice.<\/p>\n A vivid example comes from the MBA programme at Alliance Manchester Business School. In the International Business Strategy course, teams explored how Forbes 2000 companies engage with the SDGs and turned their findings into posters. The process \u2014 from initial analysis to peer feedback and final revisions \u2014 pushed students to think creatively and critically. The outcome was impressive: they not only tackled complex sustainability challenges but also learned how to communicate them with clarity and impact, while recognising that there are no easy fixes. The exercise showed how poster pedagogy can be both inspiring and transformative.<\/p>\n Poster competitions embody constructivist, experiential, and active learning principles, while also supporting critical pedagogy by linking academic knowledge to transformative societal action. The AIB UKI Sustainable International Business Global Poster Competition<\/a> illustrates how such initiatives can empower students, energise educators, and engage businesses in addressing global challenges.<\/p>\n For educators, posters offer a powerful, student-centred learning tool \u2014 provided they are scaffolded and supported. For institutions, they enhance visibility, foster collaboration, and align education with sustainability agendas. For students, they build confidence, transferable skills, and professional networks.<\/p>\n Poster pedagogy is more than an innovative teaching method: it is part of a broader shift toward more engaging, relevant, and impactful higher education.<\/p>\n Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_post_nav _builder_version=”3.0.106″ in_same_term=”off” show_prev=”on” show_next=”on” prev_text=”Previous” next_text=”Next” locked=”on” parent_locked=”off” \/][et_pb_comments _builder_version=”3.17.6″ show_count=”off” header_font_size_tablet=”51″ header_line_height_tablet=”2″ custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_use_icon=”off” locked=”on” parent_locked=”off” button_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_size__hover=”null” button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_size__hover=”null” button_two_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_size__hover=”null” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_color__hover=”null” 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He leads multiple programmes at AMBS and serves as the Teaching & Education representative on the executive board of the Academy of International Business UK and Ireland. He is member of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7972,"featured_media":3012,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,21],"tags":[36],"class_list":["post-3092","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-quality","category-student-engagement","tag-assessment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/itl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3092","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/itl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/itl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/itl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7972"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/itl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3092"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/itl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3092\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3119,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/itl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3092\/revisions\/3119"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/itl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/itl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/itl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/itl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Why Posters? The Pedagogical Rationale<\/h3>\n
The AIB UKI Sustainable International Business Global Poster Competition<\/h3>\n
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Pedagogical Advantages and Challenges of Posters and Poster Competitions<\/h3>\n
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Practical Illustration: Posters in the MBA Classroom<\/h3>\n
Takeaways<\/h3>\n
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Related<\/h1>\n
Related posts:<\/h3>
University College for Interdisciplinary Learning 10th Anniversary.<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/a>
Brave spaces of teaching and learning that effect change for Sustainable Development<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/a>
Why Showing Up Matters: Unpacking the Power of Attendance in Higher Education<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div>
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