Education & Innovation
How one of Europe's most prestigious business schools integrated real-world entrepreneurial insights into their MBA curriculum
Cranfield School of Management, consistently ranked among Europe's top business schools, is renowned for its practical, research-led approach to management education. With a strong focus on entrepreneurship and innovation, the school sought to enhance its MBA curriculum with proven, real-world frameworks.
The challenge was finding a methodology that bridged the gap between academic theory and the practical realities entrepreneurs face when building and scaling businesses.
While traditional business education excels at teaching strategy, finance, and operations, many MBA graduates struggle to apply these concepts when launching or growing their own ventures. The school recognized several key gaps:
Students needed frameworks that had been battle-tested by successful entrepreneurs
Case studies alone couldn't provide the holistic understanding needed to build resilient businesses
Graduates required practical tools they could apply immediately to their entrepreneurial ventures
Cranfield adopted Marina Nicholas's 8 Superpowers of Successful Entrepreneurs framework, integrating it into their MBA curriculum through the proven case method teaching approach:
The 8P framework became a core component of the MBA entrepreneurship module, providing students with a systematic approach to business building
Real-world case studies demonstrated how successful entrepreneurs applied each of the 8 Superpowers to overcome challenges and scale their businesses
Students learned to assess their own ventures through the 8P lens, identifying strengths to leverage and gaps to address
The methodology was delivered through interactive workshops, guest entrepreneur sessions, and hands-on application to students' own business ideas
The integration of the 8P Methodology has empowered the next generation of entrepreneurs with practical, actionable frameworks that complement their academic knowledge. Students now graduate with:
Understanding that success requires mastery across multiple dimensions—from problem-solving to partnerships, perseverance to positioning
Practical frameworks used by billion-dollar companies and successful startups alike
The ability to diagnose business challenges and apply the right superpower at the right time
"The 8 Superpowers framework provides our MBA students with a practical roadmap for entrepreneurial success. It bridges the gap between academic theory and real-world application, giving them tools they can use immediately in their ventures."
— Cranfield School of Management Faculty
Hear from leading academics and industry experts about the transformative impact of the 8 Superpowers framework.
Marina was invited to write about her pedagogical 8P method and how it impacts entrepreneurship. The chapter is featured in a forthcoming book being distributed globally.
Buy '8 Superpowers of Successful Entrepreneurs'Discover the same proven framework that Cranfield Business School uses to empower their MBA students. Available as a book, masterclass series, or through personalized coaching.