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How has the focus of B-school education changed in the last five years? What new components have been added?
B-school education has changed in many ways in the last five years. This period has seen more uncertainty in the business world than in the last 50 years. Change in world order is a single phenomenon that seems so far from the world of education but has an impact so deep that it causes changes in curriculum and coverage. This resulted in the focus being shifted to new domains and geographic areas and hence new cultures and peoples. The new socio-economic has guaranteed new theory and knowledge and the generation of new case studies to be discussed based on this new theory. This resulted in an overhaul of the curriculum and coverage. This is exacerbated by the need to rapidly change skill sets – the rise of data and analytics plus creative problem solving curricula and new courses reflect the same but go deeper in the way they impact the delivery of each standard course and fundamentals of management and business education.
On the other hand, with market and government failures becoming more common and recognized, there has been a phenomenal rise in entrepreneurship and the interest in entrepreneurship. As a result, entrepreneurship is now part of the MBA curriculum and most courses have a proposition for entrepreneurship. Each of them needed to be brought to another teacher’s class and his teachings were considered out of date and old-fashioned. It’s also a change that makes a lot of sense as startups and entrepreneurs have emerged as one of the many recruiters.
However, the change that has replaced all and transformed specific institutions and courses is one called sustainability and ESG. They are now core and occupy too much space in the minds of recruiters and therefore faculty and students alike and need the same to be reflected in courses as well. Any course today is incomplete without integrating sustainability and ESG into the fold.
Emerging paradigms such as the new transitional economy and design thinking are impacting business and business education in more ways than meets the eye.
What is your biggest challenge as a director of IIM Kashipur? How did you manage to overcome it?
After taking over as director, the biggest challenge was convincing the ecosystem that we were ready for the bigger and older IIMs. We are still convinced part of the ecosystem. It has been a worthwhile journey of more than three years to bring recognition to IIM Kashipur to a level where it begins to develop memory and enter the scrutiny of more people than ever before. This is the result of the hard work of all stakeholders in this institution. In fact, we at IIM Kashipur have broadened our reach in terms of students and learning activities that benefit both outstanding students and the general public in a mutually satisfying way.
With Tier-2, Tier-3, and Tier-4 cities and towns, as well as rural areas coming to the fore, what does a B-school have to offer for the empowerment of this large segment of Indian society?
IIM Kashipur has taken various steps. Our student counseling policies and academic advisor policies have been designed keeping in mind these realities and segments and they can address many of the issues we have here.
We have a special concern for empowering those students, and this starts right from the on-campus process so that each student has an allocated friend who provides personal attention and guidance, faculty mentors just add to the support available, and a strong community to bring students into the fold and create a home away from home.
Academically, we have a very strong focus on next-generation courses such as critical thinking, interpersonal and individual behavior, design and entrepreneurial thinking, and leadership communications to help them make a smooth transition from their humble background to serious decision-making preparation and important- make.
The institute’s co-curricular calendar is full of talks and events hosted by industry and community advocates and thought leaders who not only inspire these students but sometimes guide them on how to move towards fulfilling their aspirations in today’s world.
Post the economic downturn of 2008-2012 and now Covid, is B-school education feasible and affordable for the average Indian family?
B-school education appears to be expensive when compared to public university education which is heavily subsidized by the government out of taxpayer dollars. B-school education is a fully self-funded course. The ROI provided by a B-school education especially in a college like IIM Kashipur or any of the other IIMs and similar colleges is considered very healthy by global as well as local standards and this means that the MBA continues to be one of the best. globally sought after educational programs.
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