DIRECTOR’S DESPATCH
CHANGING WITH THE TIMES To meet the shifting realities of business and society, institutions must rethink their purpose and reassess their educational offerings, says AMBA & BGA membership director Victor Hedenberg
I n my final Business Impact column, I would like to share where I believe higher education, and management education in particular, is heading. During my 10 years with AMBA & BGA, I’ve had the opportunity to travel to 60 different countries, where business school deans and directors have shared their personal experiences and operational challenges with me. Of course, many of these vary by region. The regulatory challenges surrounding international visas in the UK, for instance, is not a challenge experienced by a business school in Uzbekistan. Having said that, I have come to discover that some issues permeate throughout and these will have to be carefully addressed by both the current and the next generation of business school leaders. First and foremost, most higher education institutions will be challenged by the central question of “what is our purpose?”. The unfortunate truth is that too many schools have relied on lectures and the memorisation of concepts for too long. With AI solutions, ambitious students can now craft their learning programmes to suit their career goals. This, coupled with the fact that fewer companies than ever require new hires
to hold a completed degree, should sound the alarm bells. It is not my intention to be overly negative – I have full faith in the continuing relevance of business schools and especially those that can reassess how they deliver value effectively. If I’ve learnt anything during these past 10 years in the industry, it is that it’s impossible to underestimate the importance of a person’s network and soft skills’ development. Yet, while a great number of institutions boast strong networks on paper, many do little to leverage their connections properly. And when it comes to developing soft skills, there is still too much focus on theory and not enough on practice. Secondly, the world is going through what could best be described as a demographic crisis. With some notable exceptions that include Uzbekistan, India and Malaysia, much of the world will soon witness or has already started witnessing, a population contraction. One clear implication for global business schools is a near-guaranteed decrease in their pool of prospective students. However, it will also mean that those operating in the public sphere are likely to see shrinking budgets, as the number of taxpayers plummet while the number of people retiring skyrockets. In this light,
I’m always surprised that institutions don’t invest more in the one area that can surely help keep them afloat: lifelong learning. In my experience, most executive education portfolios cater to a specific audience of directors and senior managers. This leaves a huge and largely untapped opportunity to reach learners who are not necessarily leading or running a company, but are still in need of developing themselves, their networks and their level of knowledge. As the coming demographic storm approaches, those business schools best placed to survive and thrive will be the ones that adapt to the changing needs of the market by delivering accessible and attractive opportunities for continued development, through flexible, stackable certificates or similar offerings. Conversely, there is no question that some institutions will lose out and be forced to close their doors in the next 10 years. Time will tell who the winners and losers will be and that’s why it’s so important for business schools to redouble their efforts on addressing the key challenges of defining their purpose and ensuring they are offering the right educational opportunities to all generations of the population.
38 Business Impact • ISSUE 6 • 2025
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