Online MBA programs may provide real-world business experience

Online MBA programs may provide real-world business experience

Online courses in business may prepare prospective MBA candidates for the demands of an interactive graduate degree program, such as that offered by the University of Michigan.

The university's Samuel Zell and Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial studies allows its students to manage its $3.5 million Wolverine Venture Fund, which has just invested in Direct Flow Medical.

The student-run team's investment will support the medical device company's development of a catheter-based prosthetic aortic valve.

The venture fund, the country's first student-run program of its kind, was established 10 years ago. Since 2005, the fund has invested in 18 companies representing fields such as information technology, life sciences and alternative energy.

Tom Kinnear, executive director of the institute and the Wolverine Venture Fund, said this latest investment "will provide the critical funds that Direct Flow Medical needs…while providing our students real-world investing experience."

Online business programs may foster opportunities for hands-on experience in graduate degree programs or careers, as the flexibility of online education may allow individuals to keep working while they further their education.