Q&A Peter Hopkinson

Peter Hopkinson
Director, MBA in Innovation, Enterprise and Circular Economy
University of Bradford School of Management

Q What can students expect from your course?
A It’s an online course. We have designed the circular economy MBA to give the next generation of leaders a first-mover advantage by tackling subjects such as regenerative product design, new business models, reverse logistics or enabling communication technologies, to name but a few elements.

Q When did you launch?
A Three years ago, so a hundred or so students have come onto the course and we had our first graduates last summer. There is a taught course for two years and then a management project. Students tend to get inspired by what they come across: reman, product redesign, closed-loop supply chain. Some change companies to find more interesting jobs in the circular economy.

Q How did your partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation come about?
A They wanted a business school they could use as a testbed for their ideas. We are a trusted sounding board. We offer good quality research and give them the platform to take that further. We’re always talking to them.

Q Things move so quickly in the workplace: how does your course take account of that?
A We look at a spectrum of approaches and we continue to update it. A major rewrite of the course is coming. In future, there would ideally be an entire module around reman – lots of people are getting more and more interested.