Rod McNaughton honoured for entrepreneurial approach to teaching

When Professor Rod McNaughton designs a course, he does not start with a syllabus. He starts with people. The result is a learning experience that mirrors the innovation process itself by understanding needs, creating value, and turning ideas into impact. 

That distinctive approach has just earned McNaughton the Business School’s 2025 Excellence in Teaching Award in the overall education category.

McNaughton is academic director of the Business School’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) and Professor of Entrepreneurship in the Department of Management and International Business. He specialises in teaching product management and new product development. At first glance, these subjects might seem more closely tied to technology or marketing. But for him, they are fundamental to entrepreneurship and to building the kind of innovation ecosystems CIE champions.

“Product managers play a pivotal role in innovation-driven economies. They sit at the intersection of technology, design, and business, turning insights into solutions and ideas into impact. In entrepreneurial ecosystems, they are often the people who turn potential into reality. That’s why I’m passionate about helping develop New Zealand’s next generation of product leaders who can navigate complexity, champion customer needs, and build ventures that create value.

His courses, BUSDEV 722: Product Management and BUSDEV 723: New Product Development Processes, are designed with that mission in mind. Rather than just delivering information, McNaughton creates learning journeys where students apply tools and frameworks to realistic professional challenges.

Every cohort begins with McNaughton reading student introductions and building “personas” that are composite profiles based on professional backgrounds, ambitions, and industry contexts. These personas shape examples, case discussions, and assessments so students can see themselves in the material, whether they are a SaaS product manager, a social enterprise founder, or a marketing professional stepping into a product role.

The courses are fully online and asynchronous, but they are far from impersonal. McNaughton integrates AI-enabled tools to give students personalised support and feedback at scale. One tool allows them to query course content and test their understanding interactively; another uses short video briefings from a virtual persona to maintain a sense of presence and continuity.

Nor is assessment an abstract academic exercise. Students produce “work products” like a business case for a new initiative, a feature prioritisation matrix, or a stakeholder engagement plan. Many do exactly that. One student used an assessment to make the case for hiring their company’s first business development manager, later introducing McNaughton to the person they hired.

Reflection is also built into the process. Students post about their learning on LinkedIn, distilling key insights and sharing them with professional networks. This public communication helps build professional identities and often sparks workplace conversations. It also connects students to alumni, creating a wider community of practice.

The results are clear. Over five years, his courses have achieved top student satisfaction ratings, with comments praising the authenticity of assessments, the value of feedback, and the immediate applicability of learning.

For McNaughton, the Excellence in Teaching Award is more than a personal milestone. It affirms the value of treating teaching as an act of entrepreneurship by focusing on identifying needs, creating value, and delivering impact well beyond the classroom. And for New Zealand’s innovation ecosystem, it reinforces the vital role that skilled product leaders play in turning promising ideas into thriving ventures.

As he puts it, “My success is not measured by what students know when the course ends, but by what they do with that knowledge the next day at work.”