Alternative Danish business school educates innovation

Forget about traditional business school and professors stuck in conventional ways of thinking.  KaosPilots is  an alternative  business school, based in Aarus, the second city of  Denmark, with a vision to become one of the most socially innovative, action-oriented business schools for the world. Through a three year “learning by doing” programme, it aims at creating the next generation of social entrepreneurs, providing them with the skills they need to succeed in a rapidly changing, unpredictable economic environment.  The school teaches in the fields of leadership, new business design, process design and project design for challenges in business, society and organizations,

After practicing the basis – developing an idea, working in groups, dealing with the media, handling administrative task-, students spend time insides small and large organizations and finally design and carry out a project. Assignments are never fictitious: there is always an external client for the work  the students do, therefore they are part of the market even during their training period. Some examples of class assignments carried out: a project to rebuild Sarajevo’s youth centre, social innovation activities in Bogota, and a project to support entrepreneurs in Andalusia(Spain).

Since its launch in 1991 by Uffe Elbaek, current Danish Culture Minister, the school has successfully educated 600 students coming from 13 countries around the world and has recently opened a new school in Bern, Switzerland. 

KaosPilots  has been nominated as a top design school by Business Week, and has inspired schools in countries such as Australia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and The Netherlands.

It is the vision of KaosPilot to become the best school for the world, an ambitious vision, that means “always considering what the world needs and has potential for at any single time and balancing this with the needs and potential of the individual”. The school links learning and innovation. Each student develops their own potential and that serves to meet the continually changing scenarios of the world and participate in its progress. 

Students learn with mind, heart and body. Unlike traditional business schools, nearly 30% of the training programme focuses on developing each student's "inner pilot",using assertiveness training, stress prevention, group dynamics, and physical training.

Some figures: in times of global economic crisis, 96% of KaosPilots’ former students are currently employed, 33% have successfully launched new start-ups, and 39% of these students are female entrepreneurs.

KaosPilots is financed by the Danish government and supported by companies such as Apple,  Carlsberg, LEGO and Scandinavian Airlines.