The World of Business Education
- "Universities are not sufficiently agile to respond effectively to the changing demand they are facing from students, employers and across society".
- "No longer can we sit back and say you should value us because we are a business school".
- "One of the greatest challenges for business schools will be to prepare students for jobs that don't exist yet, suggesting bite-sized lifelong learning may be a better solution than linear degrees".
- "Students will increasingly behave more like consumers taking a transactional approach to their learning focusing on best value and greatest convenience. Institutions cannot take for granted the loyalty that used to exist in the higher education sector".
- "For many learners, the main motivation for study remains a desire to improve their earning potential. Learners are increasingly looking for a rapid return on investment in their learning. The most popular approaches to learning are short courses, delivered digitally".
The above are key findings from recent interviews with corporate Chief Learning Officers and business school leaders, included in the report A New Way of Working and Learning. Q4 - 2020 - Executive MBA Council
Traditional institutions recognise their limitations to succeed in a new world; not all of them will successfully understand how to remain relevant in the next few years. I invite you to reflect and think about the future of business education . As Paul Graham, founder of Y Combinator, said, "live in the future and build what's missing".
Today you are a well-known educator who has earned recognition at a top academic institution or executive education provider; is the future guaranteeing the same status quo? Might the model of tenures come to an end? Will institutions start a race to reduce fixed costs?
The best strategy to take advantage of this trend over the long-term is to start building today the capabilities needed tomorrow.
I am sure this is not the first time you have heard the sentence above; you've held countless conversations with your students over the same topic because you know it is the right approach.
Well, it is now your time.