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n 1994, when Professor Richard Conway approached dean John Elliott of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, about a semester-long, cross-disci- plinary spring course in manufacturing, both knew it would be a logistical chal- lenge. Coordinating multiple faculty members and visiting speakers, arrang- ing site visits to more than 20 compa- nies, and maintaining a level of intense contact with students would require a decidedly innovative approach to educa- tion—and a great deal of effort. There weren't a lot of volunteers, says Conway. "In the 'Semester in Manu facturing,' a professor's teaching load is concentrated in the spring, while the fall semester is spent planning activ- ities," he explains. "You have eight months of research time and four months of very intense teaching. A lot of my colleagues thought it was good for the school, but they didn't want to do it themselves." Conway, however, jumped in whole- ed success, producing students who are often the first to be hired by corporate recruiters. As of today, the integrated program has inspired four other "Semester in…" courses, covering brand management, corporate finance, investment banking, and e-business. Students participate in site visits, during which they ask questions, explore problems, and offer advice. Fewer than 20 classes during the semester con- sist of traditional lecturing. Instead, students work in teams to develop business plans and solve real-life business prob- lems. heartedly as the coordinator of the new program. Since 1994, the "Semester in Manufacturing" has been an unmitigat- country are catching the attention of high-level recruiters looking for graduates who have experience in putting the pieces of complex business puzzles together and presenting effective, insightful solutions. Unlike traditional lecture for- mats, cross-disciplinary presentations of material allow stu- dents to see how various departments in a corporation work together, and how one discipline fits into another. They start as "tourists," says Conway, "but after 25 site visits, they have seen many different ways of solving the Integrated education programs in schools across the 42 BizEd JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2002 same problems and have heard many managers say that theirs was the only path to truth. By the end of the semes- ter, these students are consultants." The corporate call for the "new worker" of the 21st cen- tury—one who is well-versed in teamwork and connective thought processes—has compelled business schools to rethink the way they deliver education. Integrated methods are difficult to organize, require almost unrelenting atten- tion from faculty, and can be costly. However, as the demand for such programs increases, one thing is clear: For students to think across disciplines, they must be taught across disciplines. As a result, the familiar image of a lone professor lecturing authoritatively to a passive group of stu- dents may soon be the exception rather than the rule. Breaking Down Barriers The new demand for students educated across disciplines is just one outcome of e-mail, the Internet, and wireless capa- bilities. The more companies adopt these technologies, the more employees with traditionally segregated specialties inter- act. And the more they interact, the more business schools may be forced to respond with curricula that answer the needs of corporations that are becoming increasingly collaborative. Frances Engoron, a recruiter with New York City-based PriceWaterhouseCoopers, notes that she looks specifically for graduates with cross-disciplinary instruction in their backgrounds. Traditional "silo" courses may give students a grasp on a single specialty, she notes, but many corporations have outgrown the need for thorough, but narrow, knowl- edge of a single aspect of their operations. They require peo- ple who can look across many areas to "connect the dots," so to speak, and create a complete picture of a problem. "Leaders have pushed different ways of thinking," says Engoron. "From a business and social organizational stand- point, we've started to break down some of the traditional barriers. Very rigid hierarchical organizations have, frankly, gone out of vogue. People didn't particularly want to work in those organizations anymore." Many of the dot-coms and the successful technology- based companies started with different organizational struc- tures, observes Engoron. The need for graduates with broad knowledge is one result of that influence. In the late '90s, Internet start-ups changed the way people work together, from the rank-and-file to an intellectual free- for-all in which group interaction made work almost fun. And in spite of the tech crash of March 2000, the many now- defunct dot-coms, which espoused casual, collaborative, cre- ative working atmospheres, have indeed left their mark.