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A t the start of 2020, an AMBA report revealed that 77% of 358 responding Business School leaders across the world think that the fundamentals of the MBA are likely to change by 2030. Some of those who think that the fundamentals of the MBA are likely to change over the course of the decade cited technological innovations directly, both in terms of provisions Schools will need to implement to adapt to new ways in which companies operate and in terms of the how Schools deliver their portfolio of programmes. Hot topics and employers’ views on MBA skillsets Among new advancements in technology, big data is perceived to be the most important – 64% of Business School leaders surveyed in the report stated that big data is ‘very important’ and a further 31% said it is ‘fairly important’. Experiential learning, digitisation, and AI also loomed large and were cited as either ‘very important’ or ‘fairly important’ by 94%, 93%, and 86% of respondents, respectively. The same study, however, also exposed mixed levels of confidence in the ability of MBA curricula to meet the needs of multinational tech employers, such as Apple, Google and Tesla. And, when looking to the future, there is mixed optimism concerning how prepared Schools are to incorporate new technology. While 50% of Business School leaders surveyed agreed with the statement: ‘My Business School is well prepared to embrace the opportunities of the fourth industrial revolution’, only 13% strongly agreed. In another 2020 AMBA survey, 46% of more than 1,000 MBA recruiters said their impression of Business Schools was ‘very favourable’, while a further 40% said they were ‘fairly favourable’ towards Business Schools. When asked if MBAs had the relevant skills to thrive within the organisations of responding MBA employers, 30% ‘strongly agreed’ and 50% ‘tended to agree’ with the statement. A mere 4% ‘disagreed’ that MBAs had the relevant skills needed to succeed in their organisation. Meanwhile, 31% ‘strongly agreed’ and 49% ‘tended to agree’ that MBAs
had the relevant skills to make a significant contribution to the wider economy in their respective countries. Just 5% ‘disagreed’ with this statement. Employers were also asked how well they believe MBAs use a range of technological skills, such as AI, big data and augmented reality, in their place of work. Data skills were the most commonly recognised (57% of respondents said MBAs use big data ‘very well’ or ‘fairly well’ at their organisation). But just 8% and 6% of respondents felt that MBAs are using AI and augmented reality ‘very well’, respectively. One in five thought MBAs use augmented reality ‘not at all well’ in their organisation. Finally, employers were asked if they agreed that MBA graduates had the skills and capacity to become senior leaders at leading global businesses. In total, 45% ‘strongly agreed’ with the statement, while 40% ‘tended to agree’ and 3% either ‘tended to disagree’ or ‘strongly disagreed’. These results have kickstarted AMBITION ’s desire to further explore how Business Schools are driving digital
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