AMBA's Ambition magazine: Issue 49, December 2021

Ambition is AMBA’s thought leadership magazine, offering regular insights into the challenges and trends that matter most in global management education

The monthly magazine of the Association of MBAs (AMBA)  BE IN BRILLIANT COMPANY Ambiti n

Issue 49 DEC 2021 / JAN 2022

Exploring new Business School ecosystems

AMBA research provides a snapshot of how Business Schools have fared during a tumultuous year

LESSONS FROM MEDICINE Management is remarkably casual about testing the efficacy of its practices, so should it adopt medicine’s approach?

TAILORING EDUCATION How are Business Schools using technology and innovation to offer personalised journeys to students?

TRANSFORMING INCLUSION Inclusion for people with disabilities is often sidelined, but Schools have a role in changing perceptions

21 JANUARY 2022 LONDON

Tackling the issues that matter to Business Schools:  DIVERSITY  SUSTAINABILITY  IMPACT  INNOVATION  COLLABORATION  LIFELONG LEARNING

FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK HERE

Sponsored by:

Issue 49 | DECEMBER 2021 /JANUARY 2022

REGULARS

It takes one leader to set the bar of authenticity as the standard for cultural shift to begin

44 | EVENTS With just under two months to go until the AMBA & BGA Business School Leaders Summit, we meet a selection of the expert speakers keen to discuss how the worlds of business and business education need to be more aligned than ever before 48 | AMBITION HUB

How to future proof yourself for an uncertain tomorrow, the trends set to impact business leaders over the coming six months, and how to create a purpose-driven business model, all feature among this month’s hub highlights 48

NEWS & INS IGHT 09 | ROUND UP Your monthly download of news, research, and updates

from across the AMBA international network 14 | AWARDS

OPINION 46 | AUTHENTICITY Leaders who set the bar of being authentic can start a cultural shift in business 50 | FROM THE CEO

Unveiling the finalists across 10 categories for the upcoming AMBA & BGA Excellence

Awards, which will be presented in January

OPINION

Celebrating excellence in A NEW ECOSYSTEM

EDITORIAL Editor and Director of Marketing and Communications David Woods-Hale d.woods@associationofmbas.com @davidpaulwoods Art Editor Laura Tallon Content Editor Tim Banerjee Dhoul t.dhoul@associationofmbas.com Insight and Communications Executive Ellen Buchan e.buchan@associationofmbas.com CORPORATE Head of Commercial Relations Max Braithwaite m.braithwaite@associationofmbas.com Commercial Partnerships Manager Emily Wall e.wall@associationofmbas.com

‘The results make for some fascinating reading’

Drumroll please; take a deep breath, because there is much to unveil in this edition of Ambition : First, the shortlists for the AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards are included from page 14. The finalists in each of the 10 categories have demonstrated determination, focus, ambition, integrity and strategic ability. Some entries were moving, some surprising – but all were inspiring. From almost 200 entries, our shortlisting panels have whittled the number down to the shortlists you’ll see later in the edition, and now the judges will score all the finalists anonymously, based on their entry and – in the case of the student and gratuate categories – an additional interview. I’d like to thank our panel of world-class judges for their time, and their passion for business education in making the commitment to nurturing excellence. You can meet all our esteemed judges on our website, but to give you a taster, senior leaders from organisations including IKEA, Coca-Cola, Google, PZ Cussons, WWF, L’Oreal, Accor, Thales, PwC, Rolls Royce, Amazon, Microsoft, European Space Agency, Telefonica, and World Health Organization (WHO) will be among the gurus on a mission to decide the winners. The Schools and individuals who win an award this year, really will have impressed the best of the best. We’ll be celebrating the finalists – and announcing all the winners – at a glittering ceremony in London on 21 January 2022, and you can watch the live stream from anywhere in the world. Find out how to secure your place via the AMBA website at www.associationofmbas.com/amba-bga-excellence-awards-2022. If that wasn’t enough breaking news, we’re also pleased to reveal the findings of the latest AMBA & BGA Application and Enrolment research on page 20. This study, which represents the largest in AMBA’s history, measures the applications, offers, yields, enrolments, modes of study, diversity, and graduations at Business Schools all over the world in 2020, providing a snapshot of the business education ecosystem during a year of unpresedented disruptions. I won’t give any spoilers here, but the results make for some facinating reading. David Woods-Hale , Editor, Ambition

Conference Producer Paul Thurston

Events Manager Abigail Burke

Marketing and Communications Executive Edward Holmes

Marketing Executive Edward Jacques Membership Manager Tariro Masukume

Head of IT and Data Management Jack Villanueva HR and Employer Relations Manager Aarti Bhasin Finance and Commercial Director Catherine Walker

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE AMBITION PODCAST

much movement in the job market at the moment?

It’s not just organisations that need brands. Individuals who want to be noticed and achieve success must start building their personal brand. Krista Neher, author of Launch Yourself , joined The AMBITION Podcast to introduce the idea of personal branding. She explains why it is so important to build a personal brand and how to do it using tools such as social media. More than four million people in the US alone quit their jobs in April 2021, and in the same month in the UK and Ireland, 38% of workers said they wanted to quit their jobs. Why is there so

Raj Subrameyer, leadership guru, career coach and tech expert, joins The AMBITION Podcast to share some of his expertise about the recruitment market. Raj also provided exclusive teasers from his bestselling book Skyrocket Your Career , which offers insight into his career journey and how those searching for jobs can stand out and stay motivated in today’s recruitment market.

Chief Executive Officer Andrew Main Wilson

Executive Assistant to the CEO Amy Youngs a.youngs@associationofmbas.com ACCREDITATION ENQUIRIES accreditation@associationofmbas.com

www.associationofmbas.com/podcast

Copyright 2021 by Association of MBAs and Business Graduates Association ISSN 2631-6382 All rights reserved. Material may not be reproduced without the permission of the publisher. While we take care to ensure that editorial is independent, accurate, objective and relevant for our readers, AMBA accepts no responsibility for reader dissatisfaction rising from the content of this publication. The opinions expressed and advice given are the views of individual commentators and do not necessarily represent the views of AMBA. Whenever an article in this publication is placed with the financial support of an advertiser, partner or sponsor, it will be marked as such. AMBA makes every opportunity to credit photographers but we cannot guarantee every published use of an image will have the contributor’s name. If you believe we have omitted a credit for your image, please email the editor.

Ambiti n

6 |

Ambition | BE IN BRILLIANT COMPANY

DELVE BEYOND THE PAGES OF OUR AWARD-WINNING MAGAZINE WITH The Podcast

Now with more than 60 episodes, and featuring thought leadership from a wealth of business education thinkers and practitioners, The AMBITION Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and TuneIn. Access the platform of your choice at: www.associationofmbas.com/podcast/

Over the past 18 months, AMBA’s Research and Insight Centre has produced a wealth of groundbreaking new research and compiled reports citing views from MBA thinkers, practitioners, faculty, and leaders across the globe on the issues that matter most in business education. Recent AMBA research has investigated Business Schools’ attitudes to poverty, rankings, climate change, and education technology. We have analysed MBA career trajectories, graduate success in the new normal, application and enrolment figures across a spectrum of programmes, and employer and student perceptions of lifelong learning. We also seek to collaborate with Business Schools and corporate partners in order to further enhance AMBA’s research offering. RESEARCH AND INSIGHT: STAY AHEAD OF THE TRENDS IN BUSINESS EDUCATION

If you are interested in partnering on research, joining one of our roundtables or focus groups to delve into the findings, or even sharing your thoughts on what topics you would like AMBA to explore, then please contact research@associationofmbas.com

NEWS & RESEARCH

from across AMBA’s Global Network

Rising temperatures’ impact on productivity, how the brakes were put on electric cars a century ago, and lessons in creativity from pufferfish. Ambition ’s latest selection of Business School news. By Ellen Buchan and Tim Banerjee Dhoul

| 9

AMBITION | Be in Brilliant Company

NEWS & INSIGHT

DIGITAL THOUGHT

SPARKING CREATIVITY WITH MUSEUM ARTEFACTS COUNTRY: Australia SCHOOL: University of Sydney Business School A bronze thumb from an ancient Greek statue, a Massim Ancestor Figure, and a helmet made from dried pufferfish skin from Kiribati are among the museum objects being used to spark creative thinking at the University of Sydney Business School. ‘Creativity is increasingly recognised as an important aspect of business education. More and more companies require staff to look at existing problems in different ways, to find novel alternatives,’ said Dewa Wardak, a Lecturer in Educational Development at the School. Wardak is part of the School’s Co-Design team that has collaborated with programme coordinators on ‘Analytic and Creative Mindsets’ – a core unit in the School’s Master of Commerce. In the unit, students work collaboratively to develop and present a narrative that connects five seemingly disconnected artworks, artefacts and specimens from the University of Sydney’s Chau Chak Wing Museum. ‘The unit was designed to teach postgraduate business students about creativity and analytics, and to emphasise that both mindsets are complementary and necessary graduate attributes,’ writes Wardak, together with colleagues from the University of Sydney Business School in a recently published paper in the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education . It was Covid-19 that led the team to introduce this object-based learning (OBL) as they sought for methods that would be effective in a blended format at a time when more than 70% of students were enrolled remotely due to the closure of Australia’s borders. As the paper describes: ‘Engaging in digital OBL has benefits, for example digital objects have links to contextual information, which can stimulate thinking on related topics, offer the potential for collaboration of larger numbers of students with the same objects in real time.’ The Chau Chak Wing Museum opened at the university in 2020. The School’s Co-Design team, meanwhile, is an interdisciplinary group looking to find new pedagogical approaches to business education that can transform the student learning experience. / Tim Banerjee Dhoul (TBD)

FOR FOOD COUNTRY: Spain SCHOOL: Esade Business School

Food wastage is a growing problem in Europe, even at a time when many families lack sufficient access to food. It is estimated that approximately 20% of food is thrown out and wasted, while 25% of households experience some degree of food-insecurity. This is the rationale behind food banks. Applications to European banks for food banks have increased by 30% during the pandemic, yet these vital resources are not being run as efficiently as they could be, according to a new report from Esade Business School (Esade). The report found that these inefficiencies could be fixed by the increased use of digitalisation. It analyses 12 successful social initiatives from across the world which have already used digital technology to offer recommendations on how food banks could increase their effectiveness. Entitled From warehouses to platforms: reinventing food banks through the lens of the digital economy , the report was produced for the School’s Institute for Social Innovation by Liliana Arroyo and David Murillo, an Associate Researcher and Associate Professor at Esade, respectively. The researchers identified current trends in the fight to eradicate food waste and hunger. One of these is to change the narrative around food banks from one associated with charity to one centred around the ideas of mutual aid and community sharing. Recommendations from the report, meanwhile, focused on the need for food banks to have better access to digital technology. Specific models suggested include the use of mobile apps to connect food suppliers with charities and e-commerce platforms to sell food that is about to go out of date, or which is imperfect (for example, a misshapen carrot) at discounted prices. / Ellen Buchan (EB)

10 |

AMBITION | Be in Brilliant Company

TRACING LEATHER’S SUPPLY

ELECTRIC CARS COULD HAVE PREVAILED 100 YEARS AGO COUNTRY: Sweden SCHOOL: Lund University School of Economics and Management Electric cars could have been the dominant force among manufacturers in the US more than 100 years ago, according to new research from Lund University School of Economics and Management (LUSEM). It seems it is only a lack of sufficient infrastructure – in the form of electricity grids – that drove manufacturers to gasoline. ‘The slow expansion of electricity infrastructure meant that many producers early on chose to invest in gasoline cars instead of electric cars,’ said Hana Nielsen, Postdoctoral Fellow at LUSEM and co-author of the research, published in Nature Energy . ‘By the 1910s, the industry had already become locked into a technology choice that was difficult to change,’ added lead author and Associate Professor of Economic History at LUSEM, Josef Taalbi. Using a database of 36,000 American car models, the study examines the process by which electric cars were outcompeted and gasoline cars took over. Were it not for shortcomings in infrastructure at the turn of the 20th century, the researchers believe most car manufacturers would have produced electric cars, especially in cities. Given the right conditions, Taalbi reasoned that, ‘the most likely outcome is a dual transport system where the electric car could have functioned as a reliable means of transport in urban environments, while the gasoline car had advantages as a touring car. It is a common notion that early electric cars were technically inferior and more expensive. This is not entirely true. Electric cars were more expensive, but not relative to their performance. In addition, the average range was surprisingly good because early cars were light and relatively small.’ The research’s lessons for current conversations about the climate crisis and how best to implement renewable energy hinge on the importance of large-scale investments in infrastructure. ‘Lack of infrastructure or delayed measures can create incentives that not only hinder alternative technologies but also strengthen incumbent technologies,’ said Taalbi. Nielsen added: ‘Switching to electric cars would have meant a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions in the order of 20 million tonnes of CO2 in 1920 alone.’ / TBD

CHAIN WITH BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY COUNTRY: UK SCHOOL: Nottingham University Business School

Supply chains across the world are under pressure to be as transparent as possible to ensure products are made ethically and sustainably. To this end, Jaguar Land Rover wanted to be able to track the leather used in its cars. It partnered with software firm, Circulor, Bridge of Weir Leather Company and Nottingham University Business School to find an innovative way to follow the leather from its source. Researchers at Nottingham University Business School identified blockchain-enabled traceability which could be used without causing any significant disruption to the original operations. A ‘digital twin’ of the material was made which allowed the leather to be tracked using a combination of GPS data, biometrics and QR codes, at all stages of the supply chain. The leather used for car production is a by-product of the meat industry, and this study tracked the supply chain from farms in Scotland all the way through to the leather tannery. Using blockchain technology allowed the team to ensure that all the leather used by the automotive company was sourced from local farms, where the animals are grass fed and that deforestation had not been involved in their rearing. ‘Blockchain, as a distributed ledger technology, potentially allows an unchanging digital record of material flows across a supply chain to be created with time-stamped information recorded on the chain. Many organisations have recently become interested in developing blockchain-based platforms that capture and encrypt an exact tamper- proof record that verifies the origin and authenticity of products,’ said Professor of Operations Management at Nottingham University Business School, Bart MacCarthy. The researchers say that using blockchain technology in supply chain tracking in this way would have applications across a wide range of industries, including the fashion industry. For Jaguar Land Rover, meanwhile, the initiative forms part of its mission to have net zero carbon emissions across its supply chain, products and operations by 2039. / EB

| 11

AMBITION | Be in Brilliant Company

NEWS & INSIGHT

CLIMATE CONSEQUENCES

WIDENING THE REACH OF NON-PHD STUDENT RESEARCH COUNTRY: Australia SCHOOL: Monash Business School Monash Business School, together with Warwick University, has launched a new platform for disseminating the research of emerging economists. The Warwick Monash Economics Student Papers (WM-ESP) platform will publish the best dissertations from master’s and undergraduate students in economics at the two institutions. Vinod Mishra, Associate Professor and Director of Education at Monash Business School’s Department of Economics, described it as a, ‘much-needed platform for communicating our non-PhD research to the academic community’. ‘Students put a lot of effort into writing their research; however, most of the student research papers do not make it beyond their supervisors and [the] academics involved in grading them. We hope to reach out to potential employers and future students through this initiative and give them a glimpse of our programmes’ student research quality and rigour,’ Mishra added. Papers are to be selected based on their quality and originality and then submitted to the platform by invitation only from the WM-ESP Editorial Board, which is made up of representatives from the two institutions. ‘Gender and Disadvantage in the Evolution of Test Score Gaps’ is one example of a paper already published on the platform, looking at the ‘interrelationship between socioeconomic gaps, based on early-life household income and parental education, and the gender gap in numeracy,’ to demonstrate the, ‘importance of early interventions to address gender and socioeconomic gaps.’ Its author is Molly Paterson, who completed a bachelor’s with-honours degree at Monash in 2020 and is now a Graduate Consultant with KPMG Australia. Paterson said that the publication has sparked conversations with current work colleagues about her research and policy interest. ‘In future, I envision it helping in displaying to future employers my research capability and policy interests,’ she added in a news story for Monash Business School. / TBD

COUNTRY: UK SCHOOL: Imperial College Business School

Imperial College Business School has found a direct link between temperature increases and a decrease in company sales in the US, signalling the negative impact of climate change on business. The report – The Economic Impact of Climate Change by Cláudia Custódio, Associate Professor in Finance at Imperial College Business School, together with colleagues from Imperial College London as well as Nova School of Business in Lisbon and the University of Zurich – drew on 12,000 transactions in the US between 2000 and 2015. The researchers focused in on how firms’ suppliers were able to carry out operations when temperatures rose, which allowed them to isolate the impact of temperature on suppliers while also looking at any effects on the demand side. The results showed that a local rise in the daily temperature of a single degree led to a reduction in company sales of around 2%. The reason? The report postulates that heat can negatively impact staff productivity, with higher temperatures making working conditions more difficult and workers being more likely to take time off, especially in industries which are directly impacted by temperature, such as manufacturing. ‘It is widely accepted that the global mean temperature is increasing. Businesses will be hurt by a hotter planet, but with global rises in temperatures of up to two degrees celsius on the horizon, we need to know who will suffer and by how much. If we know in advance which countries and which parts of the economy will be hit hardest, policymakers can act to mitigate the damage,’ Custódio said. The recent World Meteorological Organisation report, State of the Global Climate 2021 , has suggested that 2021 would be between the fifth and seventh warmest year on record, and that the years 2015 to 2021 will be the seven warmest years on record. With temperatures set to continue rising, businesses will have to take account of the potential impact this could have on sales. / EB

SHARE YOUR NEWS AND RESEARCH UPDATES by emailing AMBA & BGA’s Content Editor, Tim Banerjee Dhoul, at t.dhoul@associationofmbas.com

12 |

AMBITION | Be in Brilliant Company

Take advantage of AMBA & BGA’s free webinar series for Business

AMBA & BGA is working with Business Schools

School leaders

and business education leaders to develop a raft of fresh online content in the form of live interactive webinars, especially tailored for Business School leaders, decision makers, and professionals. In addition to our growing virtual and hybrid conference programme, our one-hour webinars (all of which can supplied as recordings to all

registered delegates), offer perfectly bite sized insights from industry experts.

Topics include:  Education technology  Business School innovation  Lifelong learning  Career development  Leadership skills  Building partnerships  Regional updates And much more.

For more information visit www.associationofmbas.com/business-schools/events/ Make the most of your coffee breaks, and keep up to speed with the trends in the business education arena.

NEWS & INSIGHT

CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE IN BUSINESS EDUCATION: unveiling the finalists for the AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards 2022

Discover which Business Schools, students, graduates, and leaders have made the shortlist in 10 categories of the AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards 2022

14 |

AMBITION | Be in Brilliant Company

T he entries are in and it’s time to reveal the finalists for the AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards 2022. With a total of 10 categories, the awards celebrate excellence among Business Schools, students, graduates, suppliers, and employers that share AMBA & BGA’s values of ambition, impact and integrity.

Those categories and nominees are detailed below.

AWARDS FOR BUSINESS SCHOOLS BEST CULTURE, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION INITIATIVE 2022, IN ASSOCIATION WITH MCGRAW HILL EDUCATION

The Best Culture, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative award recognises Business Schools and the work they have been doing to create, incorporate and develop culture, diversity and inclusion practices into their Business School, while balancing and involving fair working environments. • Centrum PUCP Business School, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (Peru) for ‘Word of Women Academy (Academia Palabra de Mujer)’ • Escuela de Negocios, Universidad del CEMA (UCEMA) (Argentina) for ‘Advancing gender equity by promoting women in leadership’ • Mannheim Business School, University of Mannheim (Germany) for ‘MBS Diversity Day’ • School of Business and Management, Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) (China) for ‘Embedding Management Talent Cultivation in Multiculturalism’ • UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, University College Dublin (Ireland) for ‘Intercultural Development Programme (ICD)’ BEST BUSINESS SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP 2022, IN ASSOCIATION WITH WHARTON RESEARCH DATA SERVICES (WRDS) The Best Business School Partnership award recognises organisations that have adopted a proactive, innovative approach to strategic collaboration. Partnerships can, for example, be with another Business School/group of Schools, an employer, a consultant, education partner or technology provider, a social impact group, an individual, a charity, or another organisation.

| 15

AMBITION | Be in Brilliant Company

NEWS & INSIGHT

• Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics, Universidade Católica Portuguesa (Portugal) with Veolia • Dongwu Business School, Soochow University (China) with Soochow Securities • Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), University of Pretoria (South Africa) with JP Morgan • International Management Institute (MIM-Kyiv) (Ukraine) with BookChef Publishing House • Thammasat Business School, Thammasat University (Thailand) with Government Savings Bank • UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, University College Dublin (Ireland) with Their Lives Matter – Tumaini La Maisha (TLM)

BEST CSR AND SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE 2022

The Best CSR and Sustainability Initiative award honours Business Schools that are taking the initiative in creating a sustainable future and teaching students about social values, as well as making a positive impact in practical and measurable ways.

It gives Schools a chance to showcase their innovative and original CSR and sustainability initiatives on a global stage.

• Esade Business School, Ramon Llull University (Spain) for ‘Sustainable Impact: Our Chance to Change the World Together’ • ESMT Berlin (Germany) for ‘Net Impact Club’s Carbon Accounting Initiative’ • Graduate School of Business, MIP Politecnico di Milano (Italy) for ‘Leave your Mark: An Important Opportunity for Students and Alumni to Grow’ • Indian Institute of Management Indore (India) for ‘Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG)’ • International Business School Suzhou, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) (China) for ‘15 Ways in 15 Weeks’ • Newcastle University Business School, Newcastle University (UK) for ‘Developing Responsible Leaders for the Future through the Design and Delivery of a New Executive MBA Programme’ • Porto Business School, Universidade do Porto (Portugal) for ‘Porto Business School Urban Garden’ BEST LIFELONG LEARNING INITIATIVE 2022, IN ASSOCIATION WITH KORTEXT The Best Lifelong Learning Initiative award recognises the efforts of Business Schools that are reinventing teaching and learning among students, graduates, alumni networks and custom and executive education. • Antai College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (China) for ‘The Industry Community Classes Program (ICCP)’ • College of Economics and Management, Zhejiang University of Technology (China) for ‘GET - Gather Alumni, Enlighten Alumni, Turbo Alumni’

16 |

AMBITION | Be in Brilliant Company

Wealth Creation Based On Innovation and Technology (SWIT)’ • International Management Institute (MIM-Kyiv) (Ukraine) for ‘Building Business Education in Tajikistan’ • School of Economics and Management, Dongguan University of Technology (China) for ‘100 Groups in 1,000 Counties’ In selecting a winner, the judges will consider the innovative qualities of the nominees, quantitative and qualitative measurements of impact, and the extent to which the initiatives enhance the reputation of the Schools’ portfolio of programmes and the institution as a whole. AWARDS FOR STUDENTS AND ALUMNI MBA STARTUP OF THE YEAR 2022 The MBA Startup of the year Award encourages and promotes the value of startup business strategy and innovation, in the current competitive climate and showcases its importance in the global market. The MBA Startup of the Year award is open to both private and public sectors. This award is designed to celebrate innovative business strategy – taking something from idea to

• EGADE Business School, Tecnológico de Monterrey (Mexico) for ‘Alternative Learning’ • IE Business School (Spain) for ‘Turn It Around - Alumni Engagement’ • Imperial College Business School, Imperial College London (UK) for ‘MBA Student Enhancement Package’ • School of Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) (China) for ‘Lifelong Learning Ecosystem Development Initiative’ BEST INNOVATION STRATEGY 2022 IN ASSOCIATION WITH BARCO The Best Innovation Strategy award is a celebration of innovation and radical thinking in business education delivery across all areas of the Business School, and has been developed to recognise and reward game-changing new practices, risks, and creativity. This year, the judges are especially interested to find out how Business Schools have innovated and adapted considering the Covid-19 pandemic. • MBA Centre, Shanghai University (China) for ‘Launch of New Global Industry MBA Specialisations’ • NEOMA Business School (France) for ‘NEOMA Business School Virtual Campus’ • School of Economics and Management, South China Normal University (SCNU) (China) for ‘Optimal Integrated Innovation Strategy’; • School of Economics and Management,

Southwest Jiaotong University (China) for ‘The “Quaternity” Tactic’ • UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, University College Dublin (Ireland) for ‘UCD Business Alumni Challenge – Around the Globe in 30 Days’ • Wrexham Glyndŵr University (UK) for ‘Active Learning Framework: Reflections’

BGA BUSINESS SCHOOL IMPACT AWARD 2022

This award is designed to offer a platform through which BGA-member, validated, and accredited Schools can demonstrate their stakeholder impact – encompassing students and graduates, as well as the wider communities in which they operate. Such impact can be demonstrated through programme design, social outreach programmes, alumni relations, careers services and so on.

The nominees for the BGA Business School Impact Award 2022 are as follows:

• Antwerp Management School, University of Antwerp (Belgium), for ‘The Positive Impact Project (PIP)’ • Athena School of Management (India) for ‘Creating Impact for Stakeholders’ • Centrum PUCP Business School, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (Peru) for ‘Undertaking Tourism Now (Turismo Emprende Ya)’ • EGADE Business School, Tecnológico de Monterrey, (Mexico) for ‘Sustainable

| 17

AMBITION | Be in Brilliant Company

NEWS & INSIGHT

action. Judges will be more interested in the idea and potential of the venture, and its plans, than any financial or monetary results in the early stage. • Nicholas Cory, Southampton Business School, University of Southampton (UK) for Absolar Solutions • Marcos Impala, Escuela de Negocios, Universidad del CEMA (UCEMA) (Argentina), for Tirr • Sofía Jiménez de Aréchaga, Escuela de Postgrados en Negocios - Universidad ORT Uruguay, for Mezcla • Sotirios Ptochos, Athens University of Economics and Business (Greece) for PEOPLE Technology Solutions (PEOPLE) MBA ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2022 The MBA Entrepreneur of the Year award celebrates the achievements of successful alumni in innovative world-class business strategy, but also showcases Business Schools that are nurturing a spirit of enterprise and ambition. This award is a fantastic way to highlight the success of accredited Business Schools that promote entrepreneurship in their MBA cohorts. The award is also a chance for individuals to impress high-profile judges who are already at the forefront of global entrepreneurship. The MBA Entrepreneur of the Year Award is one of the most distinguished awards in the industry. AMBA has developed the award to encourage and promote the value of entrepreneurship in the current competitive climate and to highlight its importance in the global market. • Ximena Aleman, Escuela de Postgrados en Negocios, Universidad ORT Uruguay for Prometeo OpenBanking • Giacomo Bedetti, Graduate School of Business, MIP Politecnico di Milano (Italy) for Orapesce

• Diego Martin Bertezzolo, Escuela de Negocios, Universidad de San Andrés (Argentina) for Avancargo • Moustafa El-Shenety, AUC School of Business, The American University in Cairo (Egypt) for Zilla Capital • Onaseye Onabolu, Aston Business School, Aston University (UK) for Sona Circle Refugee Recruitment

• Farwah Tapal, Esade Business School, Ramon Llull University (Spain) for Oraan

MBA LEADERSHIP AWARD 2022 The MBA Leadership Award will honour alumni from AMBA-accredited Business Schools who have been making an impact in the business world following their graduation. The award will recognise the great work of these graduates through their achievements, performance, and recognition. This important award will give graduates the chance to stand out and showcase their work following graduation. • Zakhira Begaliyeva, Graduate School of Business, Almaty Management University (AlmaU) (Kazakhstan), currently working at Public Foundation ‘ITeachMe’ Center for Competence Development • Theresa Grant, Manchester Metropolitan University Business School, Manchester Metropolitan University (UK), currently working at Municipal Partners • Yvonne Greeves, Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow (UK), currently working at NatWest Group • Ming Li, Business School, Central South University (China), currently working at Hunan Overseas Home Information Technology and Hunan Hi-soon Supply Chain • Pedro Luis Guerrero Riera, Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración (IESA) (Venezuela), currently working at Grupo Fastmed • Mansi Madan Tripathy, SP Jain Institute of Management and Research

18 |

AMBITION | Be in Brilliant Company

(SPJIMR) (India), currently working at Royal Dutch Shell • Andrea Perrot, Escuela de Negocios, Universidad del CEMA (UCEMA) (Argentina), currently working at CEMIC University Hospital

MBA STUDENT OF THE YEAR 2022, IN ASSOCIATION WITH STUDY GROUP COMPANY INSENDI AMBA’s MBA Student of the Year Award plays a pivotal role in supporting AMBA’s pledge to promote the MBA as the leading international business qualification. The MBA Student of the Year Award recognises students who have shown exceptional career potential and who AMBA believes can act as ambassadors for the high quality of accredited MBAs, and the opportunities these programmes provide for students from a wide range of different personal and professional backgrounds.

This award doesn’t just reward ‘straight-A’ students but also focuses on leadership potential and career progression.

• Joy Chikaodiri Elekwuwa, Esade Business School, Ramon Llull University (Spain) • Monique Farquharson, Aston Business School, Aston University (UK) • Patsy McNeil, UCL School of Management, University College London (UK) • Ariel Olivari, Escuela de Negocios, Universidad del CEMA (UCEMA) (Argentina) • Jember Teklu Tesfay Audencia Business School (France) • Yunfei Yang, School of Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) (China)

ANNOUNCING THE WINNERS…

The winners of the AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards 2022 will be announced at a hybrid-format gala dinner on the 21 January 2022. This means that you can attend either in-person or virtually. The physical event takes place at the Biltmore Hotel located on Grosvenor Square in the heart of London, and will feature a glittering evening of networking and fine dining. If you’re unable to attend in person, you can still join us from wherever you are in the world and celebrate all the shortlisted finalists and winners seamlessly as they are announced live from London. To book a physical place at the AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards and Gala Dinner or to register your virtual attendance for the livestreamed event, please visit www.associationofmbas.com/amba-bga-gala-dinner-2022

| 19

AMBITION | Be in Brilliant Company

STRATEGY

The new Business School ecosystem

The AMBA Application and Enrolment Report 2021 provides a snapshot of how Business Schools have fared during a tumultuous year, write Ellen Buchan and David Woods-Hale

20 |

Ambition | BE IN BRILLIANT COMPANY

| 21

Ambition | BE IN BRILLIANT COMPANY

STRATEGY

The global average proportion of women enrolling onto MBA programmes rose by one percentage point between 2019 and 2020, from 38% to 39%

T Ambition | BE IN BRILLIANT COMPANY 22 | he year 2020 will go down in history as being one of upheaval and uncertainty, and the Business School sector was far from unaffected. Globally, 76% of MBA teaching was intended to be classroom-based at the start of 2020, but only 29% of courses were ultimately carried out in a classroom; 41% of courses took place online when only 11% were originally intended to be taught in this way, according to AMBA research. But how did the Covid-19 pandemic affect the lifeblood of Business Schools: their recruitment and enrolment figures? The great news is that, during a tumultuous year, the volume of applications received by each Business School increased, globally, by an average of 7% from 2019 to 2020. The volume of applications received by each individual programme increased by an average of 9% in the same timeframe. This is one of the key findings from the AMBA Application and Enrolment Report, published in October. For background, only about 2% of the world’s Business Schools, spread across 75 countries, hold the AMBA-accredited mark of quality for their portfolio of postgraduate management education programmes. AMBA’s flagship piece of research works with Schools across its international network to track the number of applications and enrolments to AMBA-accredited programmes, as well other vital statistics such as diversity, programme format and graduations. The research focuses solely on MBA programmes – and is therefore an illuminating resource for insights

included the addition of options enquiring as to Schools’ ‘intended mode of delivery’ and ‘most-used mode of delivery’ for MBA programmes. These updates allowed Schools to demonstrate the way the programme was intended to be taught, and the mode of delivery that was ultimately used. The full report is available on the AMBA website (at www.associationofmbas.com/ research) but over the following pages we have shared some of the key findings to demonstrate how the MBA programme at Schools in the AMBA network weathered the storm of the pandemic in 2020. Programme delivery Globally, programmes were most likely to be delivered in a part-time format (66%) followed by full-time (19%) and then modular (16%). However, this varies widely by region. For example, while 76% of programmes offered in Latin America were offered on a part-time basis, only 33% of programmes in India were part-time. The full-time format, meanwhile, was most commonly on offer in India (42%) followed by North America and the Caribbean (37%). Modular programmes, which have content delivered in concentrated periods, were most common in Africa (52%) and Asia and the Middle East (42%).

Globally, 76% of MBA teaching was intended to be classroom-based, with 13% of programmes intended to be taught using blended delivery and 11% online. Yet, the disruption caused by the events of 2020 meant that only 29% of courses were ultimately carried out in a classroom. Instead, a further 29% were taught using a blended method, and the remaining 41% of courses were carried out online. India was the region which showed the most significant turn to online teaching, with the format rising by 58 percentage points between intended and most used mode of delivery. Oceania was the only region in which the proportion of programmes taught online was unchanged between intended and most-used delivery methods. However, the proportion of blended teaching methods in Oceania did rise by six percentage points at the expense of classroom teaching. Applications and enrolments Globally, there was an increase in the number of applicants at both School- and programme- level between 2019 and 2020, while enrolments remained consistent. The average number of applications received globally by each programme increased from 153 in 2019 to 167 in 2020. At School-level, the number of

into the progress of providers of high-quality management education and the health of the sector. This year, our research spans 238 Business Schools that ran MBA programmes in 2020. In total, 907 MBA programmes were run in the 2020 calendar year (compared with 879 in 2019) and is the largest piece of research AMBA has carried out into accredited MBA applications and enrolments in its 54-year history. The research is broken into two parts with the first providing a snapshot of the composition of 238 AMBA-accredited Schools that ran an MBA in 2020 and participated in the study. This explores their application, enrolment, and programme delivery trends. Any ‘trends-over- time’ data within this sample of Schools may reflect differences in the Schools participating and the evolving profile of the AMBA network, rather than definitive changes in demand. The second part offers trends of 216 Business Schools which participated both in the current study and its equivalent last year. This part of the report therefore offers a comparative year-on-year analysis of 2020 and 2019 cohorts for a large sample of AMBA-accredited Schools. In light of the fact many Schools have had to pivot to teaching online due to Covid-19, this year, the data sheet sent to Schools

The volume of applications received by each Business School increased by an average of 7% from 2019 to 2020

| 23

Ambition | BE IN BRILLIANT COMPANY

STRATEGY

East (57%) and Latin America (48%). The lowest conversion rates were in India (19%) and China (including Hong Kong, China) (24%). Acceptance rates Acceptance rates indicate the percentage of applicants who were given an offer by a Business School. Globally, the acceptance rate was 44%; however, there were significant regional variations. Asia and the Middle East had the highest acceptance rate (66%), followed by Europe (60%) while China (including Hong Kong, China) had the lowest acceptance rate (25%). Yield Yield refers to the percentage of students who enrol onto programmes in Business Schools after being offered a place. The global average yield for AMBA-accredited Business Schools was 73%. The region with the highest yield was China (including Hong Kong, China) (93%), followed by Africa (84%). Business Schools in India had the lowest yield (52%), followed by Schools in North America and the Caribbean (52%), and the UK (56%). Such figures suggest that applicants to Business Schools in these countries are more likely to have applied to multiple institutions and chosen between the resulting number of offers received. Applications and enrolments by gender Globally, 40% of MBA applicants, and 39% of those enrolled, were female. China (including Hong Kong, China) was the only country/region with equal proportions of male and female enrolments. Oceania was the next closest region to achieving a gender balance with female students representing 45% of those enrolled. The conversion rate for women, globally, was 31%, in 2020. This is slightly lower than the global average for men of 33%. China (including Hong Kong, China) was the only region where the conversion rate for men and women was equal. However, the difference in conversion rates for male and female applicants in Latin America and North America and the Caribbean

applications increased from an average of 576 in 2019 to 637 in 2020. Enrolments fell by a fraction, from a global average of 54 students per programme in 2019 to 53 per programme in 2020, and from 203 per Business School in 2020, to 202 in 2020.

Average number of applications and enrolments by region

The highest number of applications per School was in China (including Hong Kong, China) with 1,750 applicants per School. India had the second-largest number of applications per School with 1,139 applications per School in 2020. At a programme level, India had the highest number of applications per programme (522), with China (including Hong Kong, China) having the second-highest number of applications per programme (493). The highest enrolment average was in China (including Hong Kong, China) with an average of 404 students enrolled per School and 114 students enrolled per programme. North America and the Caribbean had the next highest number of enrolments per School (259), followed by the UK (230) and India (228). At programme-level, the highest average enrolment figures after China (including Hong Kong, China) were found in India (105), Africa (65), North America and the Caribbean (52), and Latin America (52). These regional averages show application and enrolment numbers for programmes offered in the country headquarters of each responding Business School. However, many Schools have additional campuses overseas. Proportionally, the share of programme applications and enrolments by teaching location generally match the figures for where Business Schools are based. Conversion rates Conversion rates show the percentage of applicants who ultimately enrolled onto a programme. The global conversion rate among AMBA-accredited Business Schools in 2020 was 32%. The highest conversion rates were in Asia and the Middle

METHODOLOGY In April 2020, data sheets were sent to 268 Business Schools that were accredited by AMBA in that same year. The data sheets asked Schools to provide relevant application and enrolment figures for their MBA, MBM and DBA programmes, and any other AMBA-accredited programmes delivered by the Business School in the calendar year of 2020. In total, 244 AMBA- accredited Business Schools returned their data, representing a response rate of 91%. Due to the different start and end dates of programmes across Schools, data was collected for the whole calendar year of 2020 (1 January – 31 December) to ensure valid comparisons could be made. In instances when figures do not add up to 100% or to a combined sum, this is due to rounding.

24 |

Ambition | BE IN BRILLIANT COMPANY

was small, varying by a single percentage point. Oceania had the most significant difference between the conversion rates of men and women, with female applicants more likely to ultimately enrol in a Business School than their male counterparts by six percentage points. While there was no movement in the application figures from 2019 to 2020, there was an increase of one percentage point in the number of women enrolled globally from 2019 to 2020. The balance between domestic and international students Globally, 30% of those applying to AMBA-accredited Business Schools are defined as international applicants, and 25% of those enrolled are classified as international students. The highest average proportion of international applications was among Business Schools in the UK (79%), followed by Schools in North America and the Caribbean (58%). The countries/regions in which Business Schools reported the lowest proportions of international applications were India (1%) and China (including Hong Kong, China) (1%). Conversion rates by international and domestic students Globally, the conversion rate for international students was significantly lower than that of domestic students (27% vs. 34%). The region with the biggest variation between international and domestic conversion rates was Oceania, where Schools reported, on average, a domestic conversion rate of 47%, compared to an international conversion rate of just 5%. Conversely, among Schools in Africa, China (including Hong Kong, China) and India, the international conversion rates were higher than domestic rates.

Changes to MBA demand and provision: Like-for-like analysis, 2019-2020

This section provides analysis on Schools which completed the study in 2019 and 2020, allowing figures to be compared directly between the same set of Schools, year on year. This like-for-like analysis is the most accurate measurement of changes in the AMBA network from year to year, as is not skewed by changes in the profile or participation of AMBA-accredited Business Schools. The analysis covers 216 AMBA-accredited Business Schools which submitted MBA application and enrolment data for both 2019 and 2020.

The average number of applications globally received by each programme increased from 153 in 2019 to 167 in 2020

Format and mode of programme delivery Most programmes, globally, are taught part-time and this has not changed significantly year-on-year.

However, there has been some significant regional variation. The most notable year-on-year change in programme format was in Asia and the Middle East, where there was a rise of 16 percentage points in modular

programmes. This upturn came largely at the expense of full-time programmes, which decreased in usage by 10 percentage points. Modular learning is defined here as a format of learning where lessons are not taught every week but in short blocks of intense

| 25

Ambition | BE IN BRILLIANT COMPANY

Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52

associationofmbas.com

Made with FlippingBook - Share PDF online