Business schools have always had to keep pace with a fluctuating economy.

During World War II, business curriculum prepared students for war and post-war services. In the 1980s, when inflation rates soared, and the economy collapsed, students showed renewed interest in business education as a practical measure to battle an uncertain market. Today, our education system is facing perhaps its most looming challenge: how to prepare students for a globally complex, entrepreneur-driven and knowledge-based world.

Even OSU’s business curriculum has changed since it officially began 100 years ago in 1908. Once heavily based in service industries such as agriculture, our curriculum now emphasizes experiential learning opportunities to meet the demands of a global knowledge economy. Many business schools would agree — hands-on learning is a vital component of higher education, as baby boomers retire and the 79.8 million millennials (defined by Business Week as those born between 1977 and 1995) storm the global business community.

But influential business thinker Charles Handy argues that MBA students need more applied experience in their education to secure a fulfilling career. How then, can business schools fill knowledge gaps and graduate tested students?

First, interpersonal issues are taking center stage. There will always be a place for hard-lined business skills in the economy, but the “soft-skills” are growing in importance. How well a candidate writes a cover letter, and how she conducts herself during an interview determine first impressions. Sloppy writing or weak, ineffectual resumes can kill job prospects no matter how well a student performed in her classes.

OSU’s College of Business recently introduced a pilot course called Professional Development that improves students’ abilities to conduct themselves during professional networking and job interviews. It also teaches resume writing and workplace integration for new careers. Courses like this aim to equip students with the necessary communication skills to navigate the increasingly competitive marketplace.

Secondly, business schools can emphasize cooperative learning opportunities — such as internships and exchange programs — so that students can translate classroom theory into real-world knowledge. Aside from applied skills, experiential learning opportunities give students vital collaboration and networking tools.

We have a number of experiential programs that have strengthened our transition to a professional school. Students participating in our Close to the Customer Project perform market audits, brand assessments, statistical analysis and telephone surveys for private and non-profit organizations before they leave the halls of OSU. The Business Solutions Group provides over 50 student interns a year with opportunities to learn the newest advances in systems development, IT testing and business analysis services. The list goes on.

Lastly, business schools must leverage partnerships with the community to close knowledge gaps and improve student access to academic research.

Several of our programs introduce students to members of the business community and form pathways between education and employment. The Austin Entrepreneurship Program at Weatherford Residential College hosts leading entrepreneurs and business executives through the Austin Fellows Program. During their visit, Fellows dine with residents, lecture in a variety of forums, and stay overnight in Weatherford’s executive suites. The College of Business’ Accounting Circle helps strengthen relationships among accounting students, faculty, alumni, firms and other members of the accounting community.

I mention examples of our commitment to graduating profession-ready students not to boast, but to demonstrate that educational institutions are working to supply employers with flexible, knowledgeable leaders; to show that, despite the economy’s unprecedented complexity, higher education is responding to market demand. No amount of tea-leaf reading can predict how well Millennials will steer the helm, but business schools are aggressively working to make the student learning experience as potent as possible.

Ilene Kleinsorge is dean of the Oregon State University College of Business. For more with Kleinsorge, see the Q-and-A interview in this issue.