How Adam Smith Business School Prepares Students For The World — Not Just The Job Market

A global perspective is central to everything the University of Glasgow and its Adam Smith Business School do. Students from more than 140 countries study at the university, creating a co-creative learning environment where knowledge flows between faculty and students, and among students themselves.

“I think that really is the springboard for our students to go out into the world — to be critical thinkers, to truly understand their role in an international context,” says Anthony Devine, Senior Lecturer in Accounting at the Adam Smith Business School.

Caity Lynch, the school’s Student Recruitment and External Engagement Manager, adds that it’s not just about maintaining diversity — it’s about building community. “While the school is highly global, students should still be able to find like-minded peers as well as people with different perspectives,” she says.

The Adam Smith Business School is among the top 1% of business schools worldwide to hold triple accreditation from AACSB, AMBA, and EQUIS.

A WELCOMING CITY WITH DEEP CULTURAL ROOTS

That sense of community extends well beyond campus. “Glasgow’s a very community-driven place — in terms of its people, culture, and setting,” Devine says. “It transcends the university. People come together, form diverse communities, and build their own networks, even while living in a new country.”

Though it’s the fourth-largest city in the UK and Scotland’s biggest, Glasgow — home to about 623,000 residents — is known for its warmth, accessibility, and affordability. Often called Scotland’s cultural capital, it was the UK’s first UNESCO City of Music and hosts around 130 music events every week.

Both Lynch and Devine, who relocated to Glasgow, are enthusiastic about the city’s welcoming spirit. “We’ve made this our new home,” Lynch says, noting that many students who come to study end up staying to work. “That has a lot to do with the experience they have while they’re here — with the university, the business school, the people, and the city. It’s very student-focused.”

“There’s a real warmth to the city, especially from local businesses that want students here,” Lynch adds. Devine agrees: “It can be a big cultural shift for international students, but Glasgow is small enough to feel friendly and large enough to be diverse. The line ‘People Make Glasgow’ — it’s true.”

STATE-OF-THE-ART MEETS CENTURIES OF HISTORY

While Glasgow is steeped in history, the university continues to invest in its future. Just minutes from Gothic-era buildings, the school recently opened a new 11,600-square-meter Postgraduate Teaching Hub and Adam Smith Business School building.

“It really represents a unified place where the legacy of Adam Smith lives on,” Devine says. The building, which sits in a prominent location, gives the school a public-facing “shop front.” “Before, we were kind of hidden,” he adds.

The contrast between the ultra-modern facility and the historic campus architecture is, according to Lynch, a metaphor for the business school itself. “We have the best of both worlds on our campus,” she says. “And we’re lucky to have that kind of investment — not just for the university, but for the city.”

LEARNING THROUGH EXPERIENCE, NOT JUST LECTURES

The new building is also designed to support more innovative teaching approaches. One major focus: industry engagement through project-based learning.

“We’ve taken a different approach,” says Devine. “Rather than focus on internships or placements — which can be difficult to scale — we embed industry engagement directly into the curriculum.”

That means partnering with companies in Glasgow and across the UK to submit real-world projects for students to solve. The approach has earned strong reviews from both students and employers.

“We hear again and again that this was the most valuable experience students had — and it helps them get jobs,” Devine says. In many cases, businesses supervise the student teams and select who they want to work with through a competitive process, mirroring real-world job applications.

Importantly, the school doesn’t curate or sanitize these client problems. “We encourage them to submit genuine challenges — things they’d normally hire a consultant for,” Devine explains. “They select and mentor the student, and they’re present for the final presentations.”

The model has helped grow the school’s network of corporate partners. Graduates go on to work across a range of sectors, from multinational firms to purpose-driven companies focused on sustainability. But Devine is clear: the school isn’t promising jobs.

“It’s not our job to guarantee you a job,” he says. “That’s not popular — because a lot of business schools say, ‘we’ll make sure you get a job.’ Frankly, that’s bullshit. What we do is equip you with the skills and understanding to make the right choices.”

That philosophy is grounded in the school’s namesake. “We want to foster an entrepreneurial, engaged, and enlightened mindset rooted in Adam Smith’s principles,” Devine says. “That doesn’t mean shoving people into big-name companies. I’ve worked at places where that happens — and two years later, the graduates are miserable.”

 

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