Creating better bosses: Radical approach earns prestigious gong
February 21 2024
A/Prof Nathan Eva.
Monash Business School A/Prof Nathan Eva's business leadership classroom is not a textbook one.
As an alternative to writing essays, his undergraduate students are free to express their mastery of the coursework via vodcasts, podcasts or more unusual mediums such as paper mâché masterpieces or even interpretive dance.
It’s a radical approach to assessment that has transformed how students engage with this crucial field.
“We’ve had vodcasts, people have made shoes – one semester I had someone build a ‘Guess Who’ game about different types of leaders,” the co-Director of Engagement for the Department of Management said.
“Students need to demonstrate how they are drawing on multiple top-tier academic sources, but they can do so in a way that suits them and is authentic to who they are and what they want to do with their degree.”
The philosophy is simple: when it comes to learning, one size does not fit all.
“We have students from nearly every faculty – engineering, education, medicine, law, science, IT – and that means some of them have not had three years of learning about how to write an essay,” he said.
“We give them clear parameters: ‘This is what we want you to achieve, now show me how you can demonstrate that in a medium that works for you’.”
A/Prof Eva was recently announced as the recipient of the 2023 Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence by Professor Simon Wilkie, Head, Monash Business School and Dean, Faculty of Business and Economics.
Passion for providing the "best possible leadership education"
At the heart of his work is a desire to create a generation of exceptional leaders.
“I walk into a classroom thinking ‘I’m going to work really hard for these students, every minute I’m here so that they are getting the best possible leadership education anywhere in the world,” he said.
“I want this to be the best leadership unit in the world - we have the team to do it, we have the support from Monash to do it, so I believe if we work hard, we can get there.”
A/Prof Eva's impact extends far beyond the walls of Monash University.
As chair of the International Leadership Association's Leadership Education Academy, he guides educators from across the globe, indirectly impacting more than half a million leaders worldwide.
“I want this to be the best leadership unit in the world - we have the team to do it, we have the support from Monash to do it, so I believe if we work hard, we can get there.”
His research delves into the ever-evolving landscape of leadership, ensuring his teaching stays relevant and cutting-edge. This has included looking at different types of leader identities, how the context shapes the leader, and how our upbringings influence our leadership.
“If you are not part of the conversation, it can be very easy to fall behind and continue to teach what was taught five, 10, 15 years ago and ignore the fact that we’ve moved on as a society,” he said.
These collective efforts have earned A/Prof Eva the 2023 Dean's Award for Teaching Excellence.
“I look at the Business School, and so many of us do innovative things - whether it’s in our economics, marketing, accounting departments - and I feel very humbled and excited by this recognition,” he said.
“We've been very lucky this year, but it could have been any one of dozens of our colleagues doing incredible education work.”
Among other achievements, A/Prof Eva was selected for a 2021 Fulbright Postdoctoral Scholarship, which enables outstanding Australian scholars, postdoctoral and doctoral candidates to undertake research in the United States.
Research co-authored by A/Prof Eva:
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