Henley Workshop in times of Covid – our review

Director of Operations Thomas Kunze talks about the blended workshop

Thomas Kunze was on site at the workshop in Copenhagen and helped to support Henley's new method of blended learning. We asked him seven questions about the workshop.

Please note that this workshop has been conducted in Copenhagen in full compliance with Danish health regulations concerning the Covid-pandemic. Henley Business School is strictly following local regulations while offering its workshops and lectures.

How would you describe the changed workshop format?

The four-day workshop within the Henley Executive MBA Global provided a lot of change regarding exchange and experience far beyond just the way of lecturing. After three virtual workshops, everyone enjoyed being on the case again, meeting people and exchange, which in the virtual environment wasn’t possible. Besides the core topic, the new format allowed a lot of local experiences around the topic of Managing People. This included a fantastic visit to the Danish Design Centre, a lecture about Nordic leadership, and last but not least a full experience of new Nordic cuisine.

How content are you about the joint session between the UK, Denmark and students around the world at their home?

The Henley Executive MBA Global students live for learning together with different nations. So after the first touchpoint in Henley UK, Copenhagen was the second time the cohorts met. Everyone seemed to come in touch very quickly again and so the meeting was really appreciated. The whole context in Copenhagen was about Nordic leadership, starting in the offices of Henley Denmark with its Nordic design icons and so had a very different touch compared to the UK. Hygge was all around!

How did you experience the transitions between the different locations?

The transition was smooth and had different highlights. While the UK was more about warming up and the British heritage, Henley Denmark offered a fresh approach and made MP very lively and up to date.

What are the biggest challenges this style of teaching offers?

Teaching in the virtual environment is becoming the new normal during the Covid-19 pandemic. So it was great sitting in a room with people, knowing the other part is located in a room over the channel in the UK, as well as single participants joint virtually. The difficulty with this method of teaching is that the concept 'classroom' suddenly becomes much more complex. However, this semi-virtual workshop offers a very good workshop experience for people who cannot travel for very different reasons.