Hands-On In A Messy, Data-Driven World

“The way that I approach my classes is experiential in nature,” says Economics Professor Aaron Jackson, winner of Bentley’s 2015 Innovation in Teaching award. “So I not only teach the theories that come out of the textbooks but how to apply them to what we see in the real world.”

That could mean assignments where students access data online, crunch the numbers for homework and then solve problems that are tied to related concepts in class.

“In a messy, data-driven world, things move around,” Jackson explains. “You need to know how the world works, and how to think critically. Ultimately it comes down to those civic skills that everyone is looking for.”

As director of the Honors Program and co-adviser of the school’s Fed Challenge team — where students develop and defend recommendations for monetary policy — Jackson sees the fruits of Bentley’s approach, in and out of the classroom.

“The one thing that always strikes me is the success of our recent graduates. They’re the best testimonials,” he says. “Because Bentley focuses on both sides of the house, our graduates go into job interviews competing against people who might have the business acumen but not the civic skills. Ours do, and time and again they go in and get the job.”

Bentley won the Fed Challenge in 2010 and came in as the national runner-up in 2012 and the regional champion in 2014 and 2015. Staying ahead of the game in competitions like these requires generous resources, from the ability to offer innovative courses and hire talented professors to 24-hour WiFi for late-night brainstorming sessions. Thankfully, generous donors help to keep Bentley running — and winning — throughout the year.