Teaching and Research

Quality teaching, an innovative, integrated curriculum, and faculty research are the cornerstones of Babson’s academic programs and scholarly activities.

Through our innovative curriculum that combines theory with practice and a wide range of cocurricular opportunities, Babson models that teaching is a two-way street. Our faculty share their experience and expertise, and students are expected to contribute their ideas and energy to every academic and research activity.

With a solid liberal arts foundation and cross-disciplinary approach to functional business knowledge and entrepreneurship education, Babson College is committed to producing well-rounded leaders who can think creatively, express themselves articulately, and lead with confidence. We also combine Entrepreneurial Thought and Action and Social, Environment, Economic Responsibility and Sustainability (SEERS) principles into our courses to ensure that our students understand the importance of creating both economic and social value.

By infusing an entrepreneurial mindset and social innovation into our academic programs, Babson educates leaders capable of anticipating, initiating, and managing positive change in their organizations, industries, and in the world itself.

Cases are a key component in Babson’s pedagogy at both the undergraduate and graduate level as well as at the School for Executive Education. They provide in depth examples of real company situations, giving students a chance to formulate ‘real’ management decisions. Babson provides resources to facilitate curriculum development and case writing efforts.

Research

Research, both theoretical and practitioner-focused, is the cornerstone of scholarly activities. Faculty members each develop, in conjunction with their division chairperson, a program of scholarly activity that relates to individual, division, and College needs. Expectations are that faculty members develop a research pipeline, that is, continuous scholarly work with projects in various stages of completion.

The Babson research site serves a dual purpose. First, it is a showcase of the faculty’s research projects, curriculum development, and case writing activities. It features faculty awards, publications, and presentations. Second, it is the central location of information pertaining to resources available to faculty to facilitate their research endeavors as well as the development of teaching materials and case studies.

As an institution of higher learning, Babson College is committed to full-compliance with all federal, state, and local research compliance requirements, including financial conflict of interest. We have made Babson’s Financial Conflict of Interest Policy (pdf) available to the public.

The Methodology: Entrepreneurial Thought & Action

Entrepreneurial Thought and Action^® (ET&A™) is a proven methodology for developing the skill set and mindset needed to not just launch a new business, but also make change in an established company, lead a team, or create social impact. It allows leaders to effectively navigate uncertainty by continuously taking action in order to move forward.

No one is born with an entrepreneurial gene. The skills necessary to become an entrepreneurial leader—risk management, continuous learning, deep collaboration—aren’t reserved for a certain class, race, or gender. It doesn’t require dropping out of school to launch the next unicorn. Anyone can practice and develop entrepreneurial competencies and skills.

You can apply it to innovating within a family business, creating a charity, or solving global social issues. ET&A allows for the establishment of sustainable organizations that can have a positive impact on the economy, but also the environment and society.

Internal Resources for Faculty

Babson provides substantial internal support for a wide variety of scholarly activities presented to and published for diversified audiences. Funds, release time, consultations, and workshops are available for research projects, curriculum development, and case studies.

External Resources for Faculty

The office of Corporate & Foundation Relations provides many resources, such as details about the proposal process and contact information, to support Babson faculty in their search for external funds to support their research and curricular endeavors.