Importance of globalisation
The landscape of management education has seen a lot of transformation over the years, mainly driven by the forces of globalisation. The operating environment for businesses is more transnational than before and, hence, cross-border education has expanded significantly in response to globalisation. There is also increased demand for skilled workforce in specialised areas, with mobility increasing year on year to fill in skill gaps.
According to a report by PwC, over 75 per cent of companies actively seek employees with globally recognised credentials. These professionals are valued for their nuanced understanding of international business standards and practices, which are critical in a global environment​.
Consequently, there is an increasing requirement for management professionals and, hence, the need for evolution in management education pedagogy and training methodologies.
Importance of internalisation: Globalisation has changed the way businesses operate. Organisations today prefer competing in an inter-connected world, where business leaders must understand international markets, cultural nuances and cross-border impact.
In order to train future business leaders, institutions are also aligning their syllabus to include international business strategies, global supply chain management, and cross-cultural communication providing their cohorts the ability to deal with situations that are more global than local.
Students should have the opportunity to learn from institutions and teachers across the globe. Internationalisation of education is driving diversity of cohorts, as also faculty and industry exposure, making the learning exposure rich and varied.
Internationalisation, while enabling collaboration between institutions, is allowing students get exposed to varied mindsets and problem-solving approaches, and also preparing them to thrive in multi-cultural teams.
Role of technology: As globalisation gains prominence, B-Schools and other institutions have started realising the importance of adapting their curriculum to include experiential learning methodologies, international internships, student exchange programmes and capstone projects.
These help students to apply theoretical knowledge in the real-world context, further improving their essential skills such as adaptability, lateral thinking, and problem-solving abilities.
Edtechs too have played a part in globalisation of management education. Online learning platforms and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have made it possible for students to gain access to high-quality education from acclaimed sources and institutions, without necessarily leaving their own country.
This has helped to build equity in education, particularly enabling students from less privileged socio-economic backgrounds to gain knowledge, information, and skills that were earlier out of their reach.
Global career options: As multinational corporations continue to establish presence in India and Indian firms expand internationally, the demand for graduates, who possess the ability to operate in a multicultural environment is high.
Furthermore, technology in management education is enabling innovative teaching methodologies, including virtual simulations and interactive case studies. This has helped to bridge the industry-academia divide in the context of management education.
Further, specialisation in areas such as analytics, operations, supply-chain, emerging tech are opening distinct career avenues, giving students a chance to explore innovative roles that may not have existed a decade ago.
Global perspectives: The globalisation of management education has both challenges and opportunities for students. As B-Schools improvise their curriculum to reflect the dynamics of a global economy, cohorts must value international exposure, diversity and adaptability.
Summarily, here are a few key trends that will dominate management education over the next decade or so:
Personalised and experiential learning will be the key driver of education: Tailored education pathways using adaptive learning platforms and hands-on experiences and real-world projects will hold value.
Interdisciplinary education that will integrate multiple disciplines, such as technology, data science and social sciences, will carry more weightage along with soft skills development: Awareness of sustainability and social responsibility will be the key as ESG, and related compliances are becoming the norm.
And, finally, the value of micro-credentials and lifelong learning will go up manifold, with bite-sized credentials and continuous learning opportunities will hold the key to success as a management professional.