Dragon Boating: Helping Executive Students Trust the Process
“Trust the process.”
That’s what Professor of Management Lauren D’Innocenzo, PhD, tells her Doctorate of Business Adminstration (DBA) students to help them realize their potential. What could be a greater catalyst for growth than learning a new skill from experts and demonstrating that just-acquired knowledge in a high-stakes team exercise like boating on the Schuylkill River?
Starting in 2018, a day of rowing was embedded in the reimagined Executive MBA curriculum because as D’Innocenzo explains, “it embodied the nature of Drexel learning and our commitment to experiential education.”
The DBA program, which Drexel launched in 2017 and for which D’Innocenzo serves as academic director, required students to be on campus for the first six months then scheduled their studies off campus to complete their dissertations. Dissertation work is a grueling process that competes with all other facets of DBA students’ lives — full-time work, family, and other obligations.
A few years later, the program’s directors realized DBA students would benefit from an on-campus residency halfway along in their dissertation to reconnect them with their goals, their cohort, and help them cross the finish line.
For the uninitiated, Dragon boating is a team-based, forward-facing paddling sport, originating in China. Rather than rowing, DBA students would take part in Dragon boating because it allows for 20 people on one boat.
“We could get everyone on the same boat,” D’Innocenzo says, “a great metaphor for the cohorted nature of the program.”
It’s a tribute, too, to the fierce Drexel Dragon mascot.
To pull off these successful boating adventures with students, Drexel partners with Team Concepts, including experts who have competed at the highest levels and gained Olympic-level experience. Prior to getting on the water, Team Concepts sets the stage for the experience through a guided discussion and a group exercise.
The benefits from preparing and working together on a team boat are numerous. Most students have never done Dragon boating and must step outside their comfort zone to succeed, much like embarking on a dissertation. They learn and must apply brand new skills. They experience a renewed sense of motivation and determination. They make connections with others in their cohort during a time when they most need engagement with those going through the same process.
“What they experience on the river parallels the dissertation process,” says D’Innocenzo.
The result? A solid game plan to complete their dissertations and realize program success.
