AMBA's Ambition magazine: Issue 48, November 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 48 NOVEMBER 2021

Investigating rapid digitisation and emerging learning strategies in business education

TRULY RELEVANT Co-designing education to meet the needs of industry and society

A UNIQUE VOICE It’s never been more vital for Schools to share a compelling narrative with the world

REDEFINING EXPECTATIONS Devise innovative models of business leadership to suit a hybrid future

AMBA & BGA ACCREDITATION FORUM 2021

VIRTUAL 15-18 November 2021

AMBA & BGA‘s Accreditation Forum 2021 is specifically designed to help prepare accreditation professionals at Business Schools that are applying for AMBA and/or BGA accreditation or re-accreditation. AMBA & BGA is committed to ensuring that our content is still available to all our audiences, in spite of social distancing, so this year’s event will be hosted completely online. All the sessions will be live streamed in interactive webinars, and recordings of all the event components will be shared with all our delegates. The content will be led by a team of expert accreditors and guest speakers who will share their knowledge and insights over the course of the forum, and will cover the following:  the structure of the accreditation process  what it takes to make an accreditation submission  successful best practices of successful Schools  typical challenges Business Schools face – and  proposed solutions marketing and communicating your accreditation to key audiences

A draft programme of the session topics, timings and descriptions, as well as details about our complimentary pre-conference workshop, will be available shortly, but for now please save the date. www.associationofmbas.com/amba-bga-accreditation-forum-2021

Sponsored by:

Issue 48 | NOVEMBER 2021

26 | FINDING A VOICE For Mikko Laukkanen, Academic Director at Aalto University Executive Education, Business Schools must develop a compelling narrative around the big topics of the day, and give students a journey of personal transformation

INTERVIEWS 20 | A RELEVANT NEED At Macquarie Business School, the emphasis is on making business education truly relevant to industry, government and future society, explains Eric Knight, Executive Dean and Professor of Strategic Management

REGULARS

Students will need agility and resilience to deal with shocks that occur to the economy and to respond to these... Modern strategy calls the ability to think and feel; to analyse and intuit; to act and react

06 | EDITOR’S LETTER Considering adoption and adaptation within the ongoing ‘tech storm’ 32 | EVENTS Upcoming AMBA & BGA events in 2021 and early 2022 – including updates about our first hybrid conference 40 | HUB HIGHLIGHTS Find out about the weath of analysis, thought leadership and opinion available on the AMBITION website

OPINION

Adoption and adaptation IN THE TECH STORM

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

‘Three quarters of Schools are now using virtual classrooms’

ust months ago, back in January, AMBA released the findings of the first iteration of our Education Technology Research, in association with Barco, and reported that Business School leaders were to be adopting technology effectively into their teaching and learning, enabling virtual interaction, and maintaining delivery of their courses during the Covid-19 pandemic. Less than nine months later, we launched the second instalment of the research, having polled Business School leaders during 2021. If 2020 represented a year of adoption of new technologies, 2021 represents the year of adaptation. At the end of 2020, when we asked Schools about their views on planning for the next phase, options were divided, but School leaders are now confident that blended and hybrid models will replace the traditional classroom-based delivery of courses within five years. We analyse the findings of the research in detail from page 12 of this issue, but the headline is that three quarters (75%) of Schools are now using virtual classrooms – up from 51% in 2020. And a quarter (25%) of Business School leaders said that their institution is using virtual reality to teach programmes. The majority (65%) of participants indicate that this technology is being used to teach in a more exciting way. Considering further adaptation as we move forward, Business School leaders cited the need to provide ‘flexibility in learning’ as the driving factor in terms of increasing investment in education technology. ‘Flexibility in learning’ is also top of Schools’ minds when looking ahead to the next two years; it is cited as a priority for investment by 67% of respondents. More than eight out of 10 of Business School leaders (82%) said their School is planning to invest further in technology over the coming two years to enable online teaching – and an overwhelming 83% of Business School leaders believe that the pandemic has triggered major changes to their long-term strategy. It seems that now the adoption is in place and Schools are using technology effectively, the opportunities for business education to further develop global, agile, and personalised offerings have become much more realistic. 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

THE AMBITION PODCAST

Over the past 18 months, the world has moved into an unforeseen phase of remote, hybrid, and flexible working – but Chris Dyer, Founder of People G2, pivoted his organisation to be fully remote back in 2009. On the podcast, Chris spoke about his experiences in enabling organisations to work remotely, as well as delving into some of the themes from his book, Remote Work: Redesign Processes, Practices and Strategies to Engage a Remote Workforce , which looks set to be the play book for remote working.

Is the customer always right in the digital age?

To answer this question, The AMBITION Podcast invited Professor Steven van Belleghem, author of The Offer You Can’t Refuse, to share his thoughts. Steven is widely regarded as one of Europe’s thought leaders in the field of customer experience, having helped organisations including Google, Microsoft, and Disney. He offered advice on how to play a role in your customers’ life journeys and how to create a culture of customer centricity.

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.

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

School leaders

AMBA & BGA is working with Business Schools

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

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

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

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

NEWS & RESEARCH

from across AMBA’s Global Network

Possessive managers, combating period poverty, academic GIFs, and more, in Ambition ’s latest selection of updates from the world of AMBA-accredited Business Schools. Compiled by Ellen Buchan and Tim Banerjee Dhoul

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PROS AND CONS OF REMOTE

REDEFINING ACADEMIA

WORKING WEIGHED UP COUNTRY: Spain SCHOOL: EADA Business School

FOR THE MODERN CONSUMER COUNTRY: Switzerland SCHOOL: University of St.Gallen

Consumers have become used to digesting short, sharp bursts of information. TikTok, the social media application, grew in popularity by offering its users a seemingly endless array of 15 second videos, for example. While the time allowance of these videos has now steadily increased to a maximum of three minutes, it still provides evidence of the length of time for which consumers are willing to concentrate. Given the success of this model – TikTok reported one billion active users per month in September 2021 – it makes sense that academics should follow in its footsteps and seek to learn from this phenomenon to further the distribution of their own research. The University of St.Gallen has created 20 episodes of short ‘Academic GIFs’ to allow researchers to present their research projects and results. The initiative allows researchers to condense their scientific discoveries into an intelligible and clear structure that lasts no longer than five minutes. The researchers work with an external Zurich-based production company, which turns each sentence into an image for a storyboard, which is then animated into a short film. The contributing researcher has a say on the core visuals used and how each of the protagonists in the short film are shown. Each video also aims to finish with a memorable closing statement. The Academic GIFs series cover a range of different topics from computer science to law, but many link to business and management. Additional titles include globalisation and the concentration of talent, power inequality in entrepreneurial teams, as well as questions, such as ‘Do CEOs need overconfidence?’. The resulting films are often used in teaching, at the start of presentations, or at conferences. While research and academia are often associated with long reports and journal entries, or even worse – textbooks, it might be refreshing for students and researchers alike that complex theories and ideas can be tackled in short and entertaining videos. All the short films are available to be viewed on the University of St.Gallen’s website and can be used by anyone. / Ellen Buchan (EB)

The number of people who believe that they are more productive when working at home has increased significantly, from 41% in 2020 to 51% in 2021, according to a new report from EADA Business School (EADA) comparing new data to that collected in May 2020. Further good news for organisations that continue to employ remote or hybrid working patterns comes with the finding that 68% of those surveyed feel positive about their remote working experience. In addition, fewer people cite being worried about working longer hours at home (46% in 2020 vs. 40% today) and finding a work-life balance which separates personal and professional time effectively (48% in 2020 vs. 43% in 2021). However, isolation and interactions remain key concerns. One worrying trend is in the rising proportion of those surveyed who recognise that relationships with their colleagues have seriously weakened this year, from 16% in 2020 to 53% in 2021. Furthermore, almost half of those surveyed (49%) expressed some feelings of isolation. The solution, according to EADA Professor, Aline Masuda, is to give employees the power of choice regarding physical and remote working arrangements. ‘Not everyone has the ability to self-manage and create their own schedules. In the same way, there are autonomous people who are happier and more productive with this formula,’ said Masuda, who led the report, Teleworking in Times of Covid: One Year On , in collaboration with EADA alumni and researchers, Luciano Strucchi and Edgar Quero. Masuda’s recommendation is for organisations to facilitate hybrid work, but others include working ‘by objectives instead of by hours’, limiting video conferences to a maximum of two meetings a day to combat the risk of fatigue, and having company-wide regulations over remote working that establish specific hours and resources at the disposal of all employees. The role of the leader, for Masuda, also takes on greater responsibility in these circumstances as ‘it must unite the team from the distance, resolve conflicts, maintain a constant dialogue with them, offer them social support, create spaces so that they interrelate and establish emotional ties.’ / Tim Banerjee Dhoul (TBD)

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NEWS & INSIGHT

ARE POSSESSIVE MANAGERS UNDERMINING CROSS- DEPARTMENT COLLABORATION? COUNTRY: Germany SCHOOL: ESMT Berlin While seeking advice from those outside your immediate team or department has been shown to have a positive effect in fostering innovation, managers can often undermine employees’ efforts in this regard because they fear losing control over their ‘group’, according to research from ESMT Berlin’s Eric Quintane. Quintane, an Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour at ESMT Berlin, said: ‘Often managers have feelings of possessiveness over their teams and their team’s actions. They have a strong sense of psychological ownership over these teams. ‘This tends to be for three reasons; first because their own performance is typically linked with the performance of their team, but also because over time, managers develop deep knowledge of employees’ skill, activities, goals, and needs, and finally, because managers are expected to help employees reach their goals through their effective control and management. These reasons combined can explain why supervisors develop a strong sense of control over their teams.’ Conducted with researchers at Rotterdam School of Management, Australia National University and the Carnegie Consulting Group, the study surveyed 300 participants to gauge how many people seek advice from outside their departments and whether they encountered any resistance from their supervisors in doing so. Separately, 400 employees with managerial experience were asked for their reactions to a series of scenarios. They concluded that, by resisting their teams’ attempts to look to colleagues outside their group for advice – also known as ‘boundary spanning’ – instead of actively encouraging it, managers may be damaging organisational policies that seek to promote this practice. To offset the risks of this happening, managers must be kept in the loop – the researchers found that this makes them much less likely to react negatively to boundary spanning. As well as ensuring clear lines of communication to direct superiors, a further recommendation is to for organisations to educate employees on the potential risks that boundary spanning could have for them. / TBD

HEALTHCARE HIRING ON RISE AT IIM AHMEDABAD COUNTRY: India SCHOOL: IIM Ahmedabad A surge in post-MBA career opportunities in healthcare and pharmaceuticals has been revealed in a placement report for graduates of the Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives (PGPX) at IIM Ahmedabad, indicating the impact of Covid-19. Among a cohort of 119 students who gained employment through the Business School, 13% accepted offers from healthcare and pharmaceutical firms – a 67% increase on the previous year’s cohort, according to a Times of India article. ‘[The] healthcare sector saw an uptick along with data science and analytics sector. Apart from the consulting and business development roles, many companies hired for specialised and new age roles in the analytics, research and AI space this year,’ said Ankur Sinha, Chair of the School’s placement committee, in the article. IT was the most popular sector, accounting for 37% of the cohort. Healthcare/pharmaceuticals was the next most popular area among graduates, closely followed by finance (12%) and consulting (10%), according to the audited report. The PGPX is a full-time, one-year programme. The two-year Postgraduate Programme (PGP) does not yet show the same trend towards healthcare. Only 3% of students in the 2020-22 PGP class received offers from healthcare/pharmaceutical firms for this year’s summer internship. Consulting, finance, and fast-moving consumer goods were the three biggest industry areas, according to the School’s placement report. The proportion accepting offers from healthcare/ pharmaceutical firms among the graduating cohort of 2020 was lower still, at 2%, according to the final PGP placement report for the graduating cohort of 2020. In September, however, IIM Ahmedabad faculty member Saral Mukherjee, spoke of changes in the industry at an event focused on healthcare innovation in India that was co-convened by the Business School’s alumni-led Healthcare Special Interest Group. ‘Indian pharma is at the cusp of a once-in-a- lifetime disruption with drastic change in supply chain infrastructure, decline of small traders, increased differentiation, emergence of D2C brands, centrality of supply chain analytics and shifts in power balance,’ said Mukherjee, as reported by India Education Diary . / TBD

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ENDING PERIOD

THE MASTER’S FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE CAREER COUNTRY: UK SCHOOL: Cranfield School of Management Top jobs are increasingly intertwined with sustainability. A report from executive search firm, Russell Reynolds, showed that there is a ten-fold increase in the use of the word ‘sustainability’ in the description of senior board members and executive roles. PwC confirmed this trend in June, announcing it would create 100,000 jobs within five years focusing on environmental, social and corporate governance. LinkedIn also has a 12% growth in sustainability professionals in the UK – double the global average. The 2021 UN Climate Change Conference will be held in Glasgow from the end of October 2021, during which global leaders will come together to discuss their commitment to climate change. It is in this context that Cranfield University School of Management has announced a new master’s-level apprenticeship in sustainability – one of the first of its kind in the UK. The programme will bring together academics from the Cranfield’s School of Water, Energy and Environment and School of Management, to create courses for those who want to become sustainability- literate change agents. The course will be run part time, over two and a half years, and will be taught online to minimise its carbon footprint, with a three-day, in- person element which will take place each year. Graduates will receive a master’s degree, and recognition as a Registered Environmental Practitioner (REnvP) and Practitioner Member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) or Chartered Environmentalist (Full Member of the IEMA). Sarah Mukherjee MBE, Chief Executive of the IEMA said: ‘The transition to a sustainable future will require all businesses to play their part. Sustainability skills are the key enabler that will ensure companies can maximise the opportunities and minimise the risks. The Sustainability MSc Apprenticeship is a great way to blend practical experience with part-time study, allowing people to enhance their effectiveness while delivering business improvements.’ / EB

POVERTY WITH ENTREPRENEURSHIP TRAINING COUNTRY: South Africa SCHOOL: Nelson Mandela University Business School

Nelson Mandela University Business School has partnered with a co-operative which manufactures sanitary towels, to provide training and mentorship for the women at the helm of the project. The Sanitary Towel Manufacturing Project creates sustainable jobs, while producing an essential commodity, with the hope of combating period poverty. In South Africa, the United Nations Population Fund found that seven million school children cannot afford sanitary pads, and one in 10 of those who menstruate in sub-Saharan Africa miss School at some point during their period – a problem that exacerbates the gender gap. The Business School received funding from the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) which partnered with the Metro Women Secondary Co-operative (MWSC) in Gqeberha (formerly, Port Elizabeth). Nelson Mandela University Business School will provide training to the members of the co-operative on skills, such as business acumen of entrepreneurs, as well as building resilience through business-to-business coaching. The Business School will also provide mentorship for the women in the co-operative. Through this, the School hopes to build an entrepreneurship ecosystem in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro area and around the province. Tshepo Ramodibe, Head of Corporate Affairs at the IDC believes this is an important project as, ‘it empowers women by creating sustainable jobs for them and producing a product that will enable young girls and women to access much-needed products. Many girls lose valuable school time due to a lack of sanitary towels, and this need can be alleviated through this project.’ ‘Through this ecosystem, we will be able to explore the possibility of firming up collaboration among local entrepreneurs to encourage localisation and for them to share their resources and join forces to achieve common goals,’ added the Director of the Nelson Mandela University Business School, Randall Jonas. / EB

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

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STRATEGY

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STRATEGY Technology Report, in association with Barco, published its second instalment, based on a survey of 171 Business School leaders worldwide between May and July 2021. I The headline? Edtech is gaining momentum and shows no signs of slowing down. A massive 84% of survey respondents indicated n January 2021, when AMBA & BGA released the first iteration of its Education Technology Research, in association with Barco, the overarching takeaway was that things would never be the same as they were pre-Covid-19, and that a new era had arrived almost overnight. The Business School leaders who took part in that research showed their Schools to be both pragmatic and agile in the face of the disruption caused during 2020. Initially responding to the need for the rapid adoption of new technology in the face of social distancing, they then ascertained challenges quickly and moved to address them. But, at that time, commentators in both the edtech and business education arenas questioned whether Business Schools would continue to adapt to the impact of Covid-19, or whether they would enter a new phase of innovation – moving from crisis mode to creative strategy and the development and fine-tuning of technology provision once the availability of vaccines began to reduce the virus’ impact. Nine months later, the AMBA & BGA Education that they want their School to retain the new technology that has been introduced, and most Business School leaders believe that the pandemic has triggered major changes to their institution’s long-term strategy. You can access the full report at www.associationofmbas.com/research, but we’ve included some of the key findings over the next few pages. The impact of Covid-19 Business School leaders were asked to share some insight into examples of how their Schools have innovated in terms of programme delivery during the past year – and considering the Covid-19 pandemic. More than nine out of 10 (91%) indicated that their institution has increased the proportion of digital or online learning opportunities; 59% said their Business Schools’ delivery strategy has been changed to be more ‘fit for purpose’; and 57% said their School has increased its teaching capacity with regards to new technology and innovation. Other motivations for tech innovation in Business Schools cited in the survey include the need to meet prospective students’ expectations (cited by 62% of Business School leaders), wanting to be ahead of the market (cited by 44%), and the need to prepare students for the digital workplace (cited by 44%).

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What changes have Business Schools made? Nine in 10 participants (90%) acknowledged that their School has moved faculty to teaching online, while a similar proportion (86%) believe that their Business School has been able to adopt new technology. Three quarters of participants (75%) confirmed that the pandemic has impacted students’ ability to come to campus. To understand the ramifications of these changes, the participants were asked to rate how impactful each of the changes has been. All are seen to be impactful by at least 70% of participants, with 92% describing faculty moving to teaching online as either ‘very impactful’ or ‘fairly impactful’. A similar proportion (89%), think that being able to adopt new technology has been either ‘very impactful’ or ‘fairly impactful’. Overall, respondents are very positive about the adoption of new technology at their Business School – 95% gave this a positive rating. Students’ inability to come to campus elicited the largest negative response from participants, with 41% rating this change as ‘negative’ or ‘extremely negative’.

Programmes and delivery To provide context to the educational landscape, Business School leaders were asked about the programmes they provide, including the formats and the technology used by their Schools. Here, it is important to note that many Business Schools will still be operating outside their normal teaching practices at the time of writing, due to Covid-19 and the associated restrictions and guidelines that remain in place in many parts of the world. The results reveal that the largest proportion of courses are being taught online at participants’ Business Schools, with 44% being taught online using videoconferencing software and 38% taught with virtual classroom software. Hybrid learning, in which some students join classes physically while others access the same classes virtually and synchronously, is being used 27% of the time. The current proportion of courses being taught with all students on campus in a physical classroom is also 27%.

84%

of participants said they want their Business School to retain the technology that has been implemented during the pandemic

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STRATEGY

83% of Business School leaders said they believe the pandemic has triggered major changes to their institution’s long-term strategy

VR technology is being used for teaching purposes at their Business School. The most common use of VR, cited by 65% of those who indicated the use of this technology, is to make teaching more ‘exciting’. A similar proportion (62%) said their School uses it to modernise the process of teaching. Half of participants said VR is in use to teach in a more productive way, and 46% said it is creating more of a differentiated learning experience for students. Less commonly cited uses of VR include employing it to adjust to students’ different learning styles (23%) and to bring learning closer to the student interests (35%). Virtual classrooms With reference to any programme within an institution’s programme portfolio, 75% of respondents said their Business School currently uses virtual classrooms, 20% said their School does not and 5% do not know. This is an increase of 25 percentage points from the 51% proportion of respondents who cited the use of a virtual classroom in the last survey. A virtual classroom is here defined as a digital learning environment that allows teachers and students to connect online in real time. Synchronous vs. asynchronous learning Looking at both synchronous and asynchronous learning, Business School leaders were asked to rate how effective they believe digital teaching methods are across a range of activities. More than nine in

Blended learning Blended learning, involving a mixture of online and classroom-based teaching, accounts for almost a quarter (24%) of all teaching at participants’ Business Schools. Nearly half (45%) of respondents reported that blended learning is in use in their Business Schools’ MBA programmes, while 41% said that it is not, and the remaining 14% were unsure. Flipped classrooms ‘Flipped classroom learning’ is where traditional classroom activities are conducted online, and thinking time, which traditionally takes place away from the classroom, is conducted in the classroom. Nearly three quarters (72%) of responding Business School leaders said that they believe a flipped classroom model is suitable for MBA programmes, with 33% declaring it to be ‘very suitable’. When asked how often their Business School conducted flipped classroom learning as part of an MBA programme, 27% of participants indicated that it is ‘always’ or ‘usually’ used. Virtual reality The use of virtual reality (VR), including the use of VR materials, courses and campuses, is becoming increasingly common among the world’s top Business Schools. A quarter (25%) of survey participants said that

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KEY FINDINGS Format of teaching • Three quarters (75%) of respondents said their Business School uses a virtual classroom, an increase from 51% in 2020. • A quarter (25%) of responding Business leaders said that their institution is using virtual reality (VR) to teach programmes. The majority (65%) of participants indicate that this technology is being used to teach in a more exciting way. Synchronous vs. asynchronous learning • The biggest advantage of both synchronous and asynchronous digital teaching methods is seen by participants to be less travel for students, as cited by 74% of participants. • More than half (54%) expressed their belief that asynchronous digital teaching methods offer a worse experience for learners than classroom teaching. A smaller proportion (38%) said they believe synchronous digital teaching methods are inferior to classroom methods, in terms of learning experience. • Whether online instruction is asynchronous or synchronous, the biggest problem experienced by Business Schools is identifying gaps in students’ knowledge (as reported by 69% and 55% of respondents, respectively). • Lack of student engagement (64%), student connection issues (54%), and adapting programmes to suit online teaching formats (53%) are the most frequently cited challenges faced by Business School leaders when delivering online education in a synchronous format. • The vast majority (93%) of respondents said they believe that facilitators/faculty are either ‘very satisfied’ or ‘fairly satisfied’ with the current synchronous digital teaching technologies. Impact of Covid-19 • More than three-quarters (84%) of participants said they want their Business School to retain the technology that has been implemented during the pandemic – 16% want to keep aspects of it, but none want this technology discarded altogether. • Business School leaders are also keen to keep aspects of ‘faculty teaching online’ (62%) and ‘students not coming to campus’ (65%), suggesting that their preference for the future is hybrid or blended models of learning. • More than three-quarters (83%) of Business School leaders said they believe that the pandemic has triggered major changes to their institution’s long-term strategy, while 17% said they believe that it has not. Investments • The MBA is the programme which is receiving the most funding for digital teaching methods – 83% of participants said that their Business School is investing a moderate amount or more in this programme in this way. • Providing ‘flexibility in learning’ is the most popular purpose of existing investment in relation to online learning technologies, as cited by 77% of Business School leaders. • ‘Flexibility in learning’ is also top of Schools’ minds when looking ahead to the next two years; it is cited as a priority for investment by 67% of respondents. Other high priorities include the enhancement of soft skills (cited by 57%) and student engagement metrics (45%). • The majority (82%) of Business School leaders said their School is planning to invest further in technology over the coming two years to enable online teaching.

10 (92%) believe that digital teaching methods are effective in delivering flexibility of learning. A similar proportion (88%) believe that digital teaching methods are effective for two-way discussions between facilitators and students, and 84% believe they are effective for the ability to work on team projects. A total of 31% expressed their belief that synchronous digital teaching methods are either ‘much better’ or ‘somewhat better’ than the traditional classroom teaching experience. The equivalent proportion for asynchronous digital teaching methods is just a fraction lower, at 30%. Even so, Business School leaders generally show much less trust in asynchronous forms of learning than synchronous forms. While 30% of participants think that synchronous digital teaching methods offer a comparable experience to that of the classroom, only 16% feel the same way about asynchronous learning. How do staff and faculty feel about the implementation of new technology? Respondents were asked for their views on facilitators and faculty members’ level of satisfaction with the current use of current synchronous digital teaching technologies in their Business School. Overall, 93% said that they believe that facilitators/faculty are either ‘very satisfied’ or ‘fairly satisfied’. Student experience is a central consideration for any form of online learning provision, so participants were asked what they think adds the most to student experience when delivering courses online. In response, 65% of Business School leaders said they believe the opportunity for students to have break-out sessions adds value. The same proportion also thought that the ability to record sessions adds value. The next most popular answer was the ability to have interactive quizzes and polls (56%). Aspects such as a shared whiteboard space and

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STRATEGY

amount or more in this programme. Master’s degrees are also receiving significant investment in digital teaching methods. Of those respondents attached to institutions that offer them, 78% said their Business School is investing a moderate amount or more in non-MBA master’s degrees, which represents an increase of nine percentage points on 2020. Doctorate-level courses are not receiving the same levels of investment for digital teaching at most Schools. For Schools offering doctorates, just 47% of survey participants said their School is investing a moderate amount or more in digital teaching for these programmes and 9% admitted that no budget has been allocated for this at all. With regards to future investment, 82% of responding Business School leaders said that they are planning to invest further in digital teaching methods over the coming two years. The remaining 18% are unsure. Respondents were also asked where they believe their Business School’s investment priorities lie over the next two years. Here, ‘flexibility of learning’ comes out top – 67% of leaders named this as a priority area of investment for their Business School. Other priorities selected by participants include the enhancement of soft skills (57%) and student

engagement metrics were deemed to add value by fewer respondents in the survey sample (cited by 34% and 24%, respectively). Planning ahead Looking to the future, participants were asked which aspects of changes implemented in the past year they wished to keep. Technology is a clear winner – 84% of participants said they plan to keep new technology adopted and none said that they plan for it to be discarded. Elsewhere, the consensus in this sample is to keep aspects of the enforced changes: 62% said they plan to keep aspects of faculty teaching online and 65% will look to keep aspects of students not coming to campus, suggesting that Business School leaders envisage the use of hybrid or blended models soon. Covid-19 has not just affected teaching methods, its impact has been wider than this. An overwhelming 83% of Business School leaders believe that the pandemic has triggered major changes to their Business School’s long-term strategy. Only 17% of participants believe that it has not. The MBA is the area receiving the most funding for digital teaching methods, with 83% of participants’ Business Schools investing a moderate

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METHODOLOGY AND PARTICIPANT DEMOGRAPHICS Between 31 May and 19 July 2021, AMBA & BGA circulated an online questionnaire, polling its networks of Business School decision-makers on trends in education technology and online learning. A total of 171 Business School decision-makers participated in the quantitative survey. Of those surveyed, 42% represented Business Schools based in Europe (excluding the UK but including Russia); 18% in Latin America; 9% in Africa; 9% in Asia and the Middle East (excluding China and India); 8% in China (including Hong Kong, China); 7% in the UK; 6% in North America and the Caribbean; and 1% in India. There were no respondents from AMBA & BGA Business Schools based in the Oceania region. More than half of survey participants (53%) classify themselves as deans or directors at Business Schools; 12% work in designing or delivering management programmes at Business Schools; 7% are management academics; 5% work with management students and graduates (for example, careers and alumni staff); 2% work in a learning technologist or a similar role; and 21% work in another role within a Business School or management education. More than nine out of 10 (92%) of the participants’ Schools provide MBA programmes; 75% provide master’s degrees; 70% provide custom executive education programmes; 68% provide open enrolment executive education programmes; 61% provide bachelor’s degrees; 59% provide doctorates; 53% provide MSc programmes; and 18% provide MOOCs (massive online open courses). When asked ‘approximately how many students are currently enrolled at your Business School?’ the mean figure was 2,925.

engagement metrics (45%). Career services and student wellbeing initiatives are considered less of a priority among respondents, with only 34% and 25% (respectively) believing their Schools will prioritise these areas for investment. Conclusion Since AMBA & BGA, in association with Baco, released its first Education Technology Report in January 2021, Business Schools have continued to adapt and ride the wave of tech innovation. Most Business School leaders (84%) want to keep the technology they’ve put in place over the past 18 months, with no respondents wishing to return to their pre-Covid status quo. But perhaps most importantly, an overwhelming 83% of Business School leaders believe the pandemic has triggered major changes to their long-term strategy. While the jury was divided towards the end of 2020 (among those responding to the report released in January 2021), Business School leaders are now seemingly confident that blended and hybrid models will replace the traditional classroom-based delivery of courses over the next five years. Covid-19 still looms large over strategists for any immediate initiatives, but the exponential change and evolution witnessed at Business Schools over the past two years has begun to address lingering challenges with which educators had been grappling for years – globalisation, volatility, flexible learning, lifelong learning, consumerisation, the influx of digital natives, to name but a few. Now that the mechanics are in place for Business Schools to use technology effectively, the opportunities for business education to further develop global, agile, and personalised offerings seem limitless. 82% of Business School leaders said their School is planning to invest further in technology over the coming two years to enable online teaching

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INTERVIEW

Co-designing education with industry to meet the challenges of the future

At Macquarie Business School, the emphasis is on making business education truly relevant to industry, government and future society, explains Eric Knight , Executive Dean and Professor of Strategic Management. Interview by David Woods-Hale

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INTERVIEW

E arlier in 2021, Macquarie accredited by AMBA. The School, which was established in 2019 and is the single point of delivery for all business, management and economics teaching and research activities at Macquarie University. Its Global MBA programme was launched in response to the changing demands of the global MBA market and draws upon new learning Business School at Macquarie University in Sydney, became one of four Schools in Australia technology. As such, the School is known among employers and students as the place to be for real-world application and employer-relevant skills. Ambition was keen to meet Macquarie Business School’s Executive Dean, Eric Knight, to discuss the innovation and achievements of the School, its plans for the future, as well as his own thoughts on the economic climate and opportunities for business education. What are the biggest challenges facing Business Schools? Business Schools will be impacted by the changes in the global economy and global/ local jobs markets. In that respect, the kinds of challenges facing businesses map against those of international Business Schools as they tailor their offerings to where students need skills. It is important that Business Schools can respond to the challenges to ensure the next generation of business leaders can manage through these changing times. The employment skills required for professional success are changing:

relevance in the world and to industry and government, for whom we prepare the future workforce. Our MBA provides a transformative learning experience, building strategic business acumen and leadership capability to accelerate career progress within or across industry. It is tailored to student learning, work and career needs by addressing: • essential and contemporary business discipline knowledge and skills. • the integrated application of business disciplines in key units, culminating in the MBA capstone unit. • business disciplines in practice via the Industry and Alumni Partnership Program integrated in the curriculum; • business disciplines applied to student work and career needs through the Career and Coaching Program; • environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles integrated in the curriculum. Our Global MBA is built around six future-focused capabilities: adapting, analysing, influencing, leading, problem solving, and strategising. It is designed to meet the changing needs of the labour market, where increasing tech-driven disruptions redefine and create new opportunities for work. It is modelled on a stackable concept where you determine what you’ll learn, how much you’ll learn, and when you’ll learn. For both, we work in collaboration with our alumni and corporate partners to provide a world-class education that

effective communication, data analytics, critical thinking, and problem solving are all now valued. That is why we devised our Global MBA, in partnership with Coursera, around a set of skills rather than traditional disciplinary domains. That programme has proved very popular and has just been ranked second in Australia and 19th globally by QS in the 2021 Global Online MBA Rankings, after launching in 2019. It is also ranked first in the world for ‘class experience’. The nature of learning is also changing, and it is now essential that Business Schools provide a quality online experience for all students. Students are also looking for shorter learning experiences and life-long learning opportunities that allow them to build successful careers. Macquarie Business School is responding to the challenges with courses that are co-designed with industry to help students get the very best education they can. For example, our partnership with the Australian Financial Markets Association offers micro-credentials that feed into our master’s of applied finance programme. With workplaces and the future of work evolving so rapidly, careers options for our students are very different to just five or 10 years ago. This is our great responsibility and privilege – to help students find their way into the world. What do you think differentiates the MBA at Macquarie Business School? Quality. We have a solid foundation of high-quality teaching and research and our long-term vision is to focus on

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It is now essential that Business Schools provide a quality online experience for all students

is applied and engaged in the challenges we face in society and in our economy. Business and business education are being disrupted as never before by globalisation and rapid technological change. How are you future-proofing your School’s post-graduate Business programmes? The year 2020 was a challenge for us all, and at Macquarie Business School, we saw exceptional efforts from staff to deliver high-quality teaching and student experience, despite the challenges presented by the global Covid-19 pandemic. Our courses are co-designed with industry, meaning our degrees are reflective of industry realities and future demands. Students graduate with the skills and knowledge they will need to meet the current and future challenges of their chosen profession. We work to create innovative, engaging, and impactful learning experiences for our students. This includes work-integrated learning at scale, flexibility in delivery, future-focused curricula and an enriched and engaged student experience. Our focus on work-integrated learning at scale has been affected by Covid-19 interruptions. There are now opportunities to extend employability, mentoring at scale and with alumni, and more work- integrated learning using digital modalities and technology. In response to the global challenge of finding ways to provide access to digital skills learners from around the world, Macquarie Business School created a set of courses on Excel Skills for Business.

to move to a hybrid model, capturing the best of online and in-person, synchronous and asynchronous learning, while also optimising student engagement, connection and collaboration. For example, Macquarie Business School is partnering with Forage to deliver in-curriculum virtual work experience to students on our post-graduate courses. Covid-19 has meant that many students have had difficulty accessing work experience in the real world. Forage bridges a critical gap by providing a platform that allows organisations to bring real-world career experience to students through bite-sized virtual experience programmes. Is there a reluctance on the part of Business Schools to introduce too much change into their programmes? Not really. We have increasingly given responsibility to course directors to guide us on where programmes need to head, and our academic colleagues apply their judgement across disciplinary context, commercial understanding, and student need. MBAs care about sustainability and climate change. How important is sustainability, and in what ways have Business Schools adapted this into their programmes? Sustainability and social responsibility are embedded throughout the curricula of our MBA and GMBA. The GMBA also has the standalone subject ‘Global sustainability and corporate social responsibility: Be sustainable’. In alignment with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals,

The seemingly mundane topic remains a key skill to acquire for anyone looking for work. With the surge of interest in data analysis, Excel remains a critical digital ‘door-opener’ skill in a rapidly growing segment of work. In partnership with Coursera, we launched four Excel Skills for Business courses that have since attracted more than 150,000 learners from across the globe. Do you think the business education sector, as a whole, is responding quickly enough to this disruption? Last year meant a rapid move to online learning for our students. Our staff made a tremendous effort and commitment to achieving a positive experience for our students. Across the sector, in response to the disruptions we have experienced, there is significant work underway to provide students with the skills necessary to manage through disruption. The interface with Technology and STEM is crucial to the future of business research and education. This is why we offer a Master of Business Analytics which is cross taught between Macquarie Business School and our Faculty of Science and Engineering. It’s a great programme, and shows the power of multi-disciplinary education as we begin to think about the education of the future. How is technology continuing to impact Business Schools in the wake of Covid-19? Covid-19 has prompted a reimagining of how, when and where we deliver education to our learners. The opportunity now is

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