Beyond the physical/virtual: connected learning spaces in postgraduate business education

In response to the rapidly changing realities of higher education, educators need to reconceptualise how they think about learning spaces. This paper examines how the concept of connected learning space may better represent the learning experiences of postgraduate students than paradigms of physical and/or virtual space. Eleven focus groups, representing as many postgraduate courses in a large business school, were analysed to gather insights into how students conceptualised their learning spaces. Students described their experiences as personal, interconnected learning spaces that extended beyond the formal educational environments designed for them. These findings reveal an entangled network of connections with multiple dimensions: interactions with peers, engagement with formal course materials and self-sourced digital content, links to their past learning experiences and envisioned future selves, as well as connections to professional practice in the ‘real world’. We argue that higher education institutions and educators need to co-design with students to strengthen connections between theory and practice, between individual and collective experiences, both within and outside formal educational spaces. Educational design must facilitate diverse opportunities for students to co-create meaningful connections that transcend physical and virtual boundaries.