Doors open automatically.

‘Networking’ as a term conjures up a whole range of responses. Opportunity. Dread. Business cards. Coffee. Stock photos. Brunch. Fundamentally, it involves one human being looking to communicate with other human beings for personal or mutual benefit.

Networking is a key skill for the modern worker, especially in light of the so-called fourth industrial revolution and the “rise of the machines”. With many processes becoming automated and streamlined, the need for professionals to adapt is high. Change and uncertainty are the flavours of the month, with many varying interpretations and prophecies of the future from ominous to defiant. But whether you see AI & emerging technology as a threat to human jobs (1) or a tool to be embraced for improving the workplace (2), networking remains an important skill for workers as they look for stability.

Networking will remain an important skill for future workers as they look for stability; will they start a side-hustle, will they take an online course in Python or C++, will they move overseas into a new & emerging sector? Talking to peers, sharing experiences, learning from your own and others’ mistakes is one of the most effective ways to cope with uncertainty.

Henley values personal relationships extremely highly, and it is a fundamental core of our teaching and has been since the very beginning. Because of this approach, Henley Business School is known for producing leaders and professionals who think with clarity and act with confidence and conviction.

We bring talented and inspiring minds together from across the world to study with us and, with alumni living in more than 150 countries, we have an exceptionally vibrant and powerful business network. All over the globe, Henley graduates and contacts are continuing to forge new networks of overlapping skillsets, interests and shared goals. With dozens of regional chapters run by our graduates, our human network is leveraging digital technologies for success, with our new online platform Henley Live providing a free and dynamic point of contact for our alumni community.

Those studying with us quickly find that, when it comes to trying to crack a new market, find collaborators for research or establish new industry links, Henley Business School and its world-class network can lead to doors opening automatically.

• Forbes: 5 Important Artificial Intelligence Predictions (For 2019) Everyone Should Read (Accessed January 2019) https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2018/12/03/5-important-artificial-intelligence-predictions-for-2019-everyone-should-read/#594c99c4319f

• World Economic Forum: Technology is changing the way we live, learn and work. How can leaders make sure we all prosper? (Accessed January 2019) https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/01/technology-is-changing-the-way-we-live-learn-and-work-how-can-leaders-make-sure-we-all-prosper/

• The Trinity of Networking (written by Sabine Jones, Henley MBA alumnus)