Beyond Exams | Mastering Education with Mat Jacobson

Exams, rankings, research prestige… none of that matters when you graduate and still don’t know how to do the work. We take a hard look at why higher education keeps producing capable people who feel unprepared on day one, and why the system often rewards publishing papers more than building practical skills.This week, our hosts, Magnus Olsen, Don Sanka Small and Will Tuffley are joined by Mat Jacobson, founder of Ducere Global Business School and the Kennedy University of Leadership, who has worked with presidents, prime ministers, Nobel Prize winners, and Fortune 500 leaders. Mat breaks down what universities were originally designed to do, why students think they’re buying one thing while institutions deliver another, and how applied learning changes the outcome. We talk MBAs, the real value of credentials as a market signal, and why medicine gets it right by integrating practice all the way through.Then we get tactical: if you remove exams, what replaces them? Matt explains a project-based assessment model where each subject ties to the student’s actual workplace, turning assignments into real outputs instead of fictional case studies. We also look ahead at AI in education, including how leaders should think beyond cost-cutting, how to teach ethical use, and what risks sit around bias, integrity, and student IP.If you want practical business education, work-integrated learning, or a clearer view of the future of higher education in Australia and beyond, this one will spark ideas. Subscribe, share it with a mate, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway or your toughest question about how universities should work.Send us Fan MailWant more? Find us on You Tube, Instagram, X, and TikTok where we share bonus content and engage with our listeners. Don’t forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review! Your support helps us bring more inspiring stories to life. ❤️