Ambition is AMBA’s thought leadership magazine, offering regular insights into the challenges and trends that matter most in global management education
Ambiti n The magazine of the association of MBAs (AMBA) BE IN BRILLIANT COMPANY
Issue 1 2025 VOLUME 79
Morris Mthombeni at GIBS on forging future leaders South African success story
LEADING THE WAY IN ASIA PACIFIC AMBA deans & directors convene in Kuala Lumpur
TRIALS, TRIBULATIONS – AND TRIUMPH Manchester Metropolitan University crafts next-gen MBA
FROM INCUBATOR TO INSTITUTE Emlyon’s bold new era of innovation
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ISSUE 1 • 2025 • VOLUME 79
NEWS & INS IGHT
REGULARS
07 | EDI TOR’ S LET TER
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22 08
How entrepreneurship empowers MBA graduates and helps address the evolving needs of global business 34 | SPOTLIGHT ON SCHOOLS A look at Santiago de Chile’s Universidad Católica School of Management, which recently received joint accreditation from AMBA & BGA 38 | VIEW FROM THE TOP CEO Andrew Main Wilson announces the upcoming launch of the MBA Directors Club, open to programme heads of the degree
08 | BUSINESS BRIEFING Research on preferences for the bear type of leader, generative AI’s potential for bias, the use of war metaphors in business and the merits of job-crafting feature among our latest selection of news and research from AMBA-accredited business schools around the world 30 | AWARDS Find out which business schools, students and graduates came out on top in 2025’s AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards, recognising achievement in 10 different
OPINION
36 | ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE As populations age and people work for longer, it becomes more important to curb negative stereotypes about the different generations that occupy today’s global workplaces
categories, including innovation, sustainability and lifelong learning
30
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BEYOND ACCREDITATION AMBA-accredited business schools have access to a range of complimentary resources, including PR and marketing support, free student and graduate membership, Ambition magazine and discounts across our award-winning international events portfolio, as well as free Business Graduates Association (BGA) membership To find out more and access AMBA’s products and services, visit www.amba-bga.com/beyond-accreditation
ISSUE 1 • 2025 • VOLUME 79
FEATURES
22 | VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY
Manchester Metropolitan University Business School’s Anastasia Kynighou on the arduous yet rewarding journey of designing and developing a new MBA programme from concept to launch
12 | COVER STORY IN CONVERSATION WITH... MORRIS MTHOMBENI
The dean of the University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science reveals how challenges can be transformed into advantages in the Global South and details the school’s
emphasis on nurturing humane‑centred leaders
26 | LIFE BEGINS AT 40 Emlyon dean Isabelle Huault and directors Frédéric Delmar ( pictured below ) and Alexander Bell discuss the school’s spirit of entrepreneurship, as it marks four decades of start-up support with the launch of a new institute for innovation
16 | CONNECTING IN KUALA LUMPUR Highlights from the AMBA & BGA Asia Pacific conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, including discussions around the need for business schools to act as agents of societal change
Ambition • ISSUE 1 • 2025 5
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EDITOR’S LETTER
ntrepreneurship has become an increasingly vital component of business school curricula, reflecting its growing importance in the global economy. By fostering an entrepreneurial spirit, business schools empower MBA graduates to become drivers of economic growth and job creation through their own ventures. This emphasis on entrepreneurship also addresses the evolving needs of the modern workforce, where adaptability, creativity and the ability to navigate uncertainty are highly prized. Our feature on Emlyon’s new Institute for Impactful Entrepreneurship and Innovation puts the focus firmly on entrepreneurial culture. This kind of culture is irrefutably embedded in the school’s DNA, as Emlyon was the first such institution in France to launch an incubator back in 1984; since then, around 1,800 start-ups and 15,000 jobs have been created. In a panel session at AMBA & BGA’s Asia Pacific conference, recently held in Kuala Lumpur and reviewed in this issue, Manli Huang at the South China University of Technology talked about the “distinct focus on the concept of entrepreneurship” at his school. Meanwhile, Eva Khong from the City University of Macau explained how the institution has been organising a Silk Road conference on entrepreneurship networking since 2019. At the same event, Mahadeo Jaiswal from the Indian Institute of Management Sambalpur noted that India has the third-largest ecosystem in the world for start-ups, with 130,000 such firms already registered. The AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards held in January also paid tribute to the start-up spirit. Karl Baz from the University of Bradford School of Management won Start-Up of the Year for Deep Blue, an AI-assisted Drown Detection System that represents a ground-breaking leap in water safety technology. Also scooping a prize was Marco Farina from Italy’s Polimi School of Management, who was crowned Entrepreneur of the Year for his Logol AG technology. This in turn developed ELLE, a pioneering, AI cloud-based, B2B SaaS solution for law firms. Entrepreneurship and start-ups are crucial engines of growth. They drive innovation by developing new products, services and business models, often disrupting existing markets and creating new ones. Start-ups also play a vital role in job creation; they contribute to increased competition and productivity, ultimately benefiting consumers and the economy as a whole. IGNITING INNOVATION: NEXT-GEN ENTREPRENEURS It’s essential to encourage business creation and nurture start‑ups to cater for an ever-evolving economy E
EDITORIAL Head of editorial Colette Doyle c.doyle@amba-bga.com Content editor Tim Banerjee Dhoul t.dhoul@amba-bga.com
Art editor Sam Price Sub-editor Heather Ford
Insight, content and PR manager Ellen Buchan e.buchan@amba-bga.com CORPORATE Commercial relations director Max Braithwaite m.braithwaite@amba-bga.com
Head of marketing and communications Leonora Clement
Senior marketing executive Edward Holmes
Head of IT and data management Jack Villanueva
Head of events Carolyn Armsby
HR and employer relations manager Aarti Bhasin Finance and commercial director Catherine Walker
Colette Doyle , Editor, Ambition
THIS MONTH’S CONTRIBUTORS
Chief executive officer Andrew Main Wilson
Executive assistant to the CEO Amy Youngs a.youngs@amba-bga.com ACCREDITATION ENQUIRIES accreditation@amba-bga.com
ALEXANDER BELL
FRÉDÉRIC DELMAR
ISABELLE HUAULT
ANASTASIA KYNIGHOU
MORRIS MTHOMBENI
REBECCA ROBINS
JOSÉ TESSADA
Copyright 2025 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
Ambition • ISSUE 1 • 2025 7
BUSINESS BRIEFING
All the latest updates from across AMBA’s global network
Featured among the latest selection of updates from AMBA-accredited schools is a look at the effects of using the language of war in business, the merits of job-crafting and research that lifts the lid on generative AI’s potential for bias. By Tim Banerjee Dhoul , Ellen Buchan and Colette Doyle
IF LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD, WHAT CAN WE SAY ABOUT THE BOARDROOM?
SCHOOL : Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics COUNTRY : Portugal
You will often hear business leaders compare decisions to a battle, notably in relation to their approach to remaining competitive. For example, they might speak of “declaring war on inefficiency” or “fighting for a share of the market”. But is this language actually conveying what they want to portray? A study led by Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics looked at 999 acquisition announcements made by US publicly traded firms between 2004 and 2016, analysing conference calls where CEOs had spoken about their strategic decisions. They then assessed the subsequent tone of reports by financial analysts. “Our research revealed a surprising truth,” disclosed Católica-Lisbon professor João Cotter Salvado and London Business School professor Donal Crilly. “War metaphors, often used to project strength, actually trigger negative reactions from analysts, increasing the likelihood of a poor reception to strategic announcements.”
When CEOs used just one percentage point more words deemed to be war-related in their presentations, analysts were found to be 20 per cent more negative in their reports. The study also found that the unfavourable effect of war metaphors was even more pronounced during periods of heightened market volatility. The researchers believe that these findings relate to perceptions of risk associated with the acquisitions. In their analysis, war metaphors made acquisitions appear riskier because of their connotations with high levels of aggression. Leaders might believe that they are showing power and confidence, but in reality they are implying that they lack restraint and have the potential to make reckless, uncalculated decisions. The key takeaway here is for executives to exercise caution in the language they use when announcing big strategic decisions. To avoid instigating unnecessary concern, executives are instead advised to focus on using metaphors that demonstrate stability and collaboration. EB
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NEWS & INSIGHT
ChatGPT was found to exhibit biases in both text and image outputs, raising questions about fairness and accountability in the design of generative AI, in a study from UEA’s Norwich Business School. “Our findings suggest that generative AI tools are far from neutral. They reflect biases that could shape perceptions and policies in unintended ways,” declared Norwich Business School lecturer Fabio Motoki, who led the study in collaboration with researchers at Fundação Getúlio Vargas’ Graduate School of Economics (FGV EPGE) and Insper in Brazil. Assessing Political Bias and Value Misalignment in Generative Artificial Intelligence is based on the results of three tests performed with ChatGPT. In the first, the AI tool was asked to simulate responses from average US citizens to a standardised questionnaire developed by the Pew Research Centre. “By comparing ChatGPT’s answers to real survey data, we found systematic deviations towards left-leaning perspectives,” noted Motoki. ChatGPT was also found to align with left-wing values in most cases when tasked with generating free-text responses on politically sensitive themes in the second test. In the third test, ChatGPT was asked to produce images in relation to the same themes, with outputs analysed using GPT-4 Vision and corroborated through Google’s Gemini. “While image generation mirrored textual biases, ChatGPT refused to generate right-leaning perspectives for some themes, citing misinformation concerns,” revealed co-author and master’s student at Insper Victor Rangel. FGV EPGE professor and co-author Pinho Neto pointed to the potential implications: “Unchecked biases in generative AI could deepen existing societal divides, eroding trust in institutions and democratic processes. The study underscores the need for interdisciplinary collaboration between policymakers, technologists and academics to design AI systems that are fair, accountable and aligned with societal norms.” TBD BIAS DETECTED IN GEN AI SUGGESTS NEED FOR BETTER DESIGN AND ACCOUNTABILITY SCHOOL : Norwich Business School University of East Anglia (UEA) COUNTRY : UK
Job-crafting is a technique to refocus an employee’s role and proactively align it better with their expectations, goals, interests, values, needs, strengths and personal skills. By taking more control over a job’s design, individuals are said to derive more meaning from it. However, achieving this outcome rests on business and team leaders facilitating the process by providing feedback and flexibility. This was the main finding of a report carried out by a team from the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Deusto in Bilbao, home to Deusto Business School. Job-Crafting and Work Engagement: The Mediating Role of Work Meaning , published in the journal Current Psychology , establishes that the positive relationship between job-crafting and life satisfaction is explained by the meaning of work. According to the Health Sciences team at Deusto’s Department of Psychology, job-crafting is an active behaviour of working people, whereby they introduce changes to the nature of the tasks they perform in their role, as well as to their relationship with the work environment. The team, comprising Onintze López de Letona Ibáñez, Alejandro Amillano, Silvia Martínez-Rodríguez and María Carrasco, studied 785 employees (50.2 per cent female) with an average age of 41.4 years. A significant positive association of job-crafting with life satisfaction was found. In addition, mediation analysis revealed that job meaning was the primary mechanism for this relationship. The results of the study highlight the importance of looking after wellbeing at work in the context of overall life satisfaction for employees. The Deusto team concluded that “in a global context in which mental health is seriously threatened, organisations can play a crucial role in promoting people’s wellbeing”. Taking into account the path opened by other research, this study “provides some of the first empirical data in favour of the potential of job-crafting to promote people’s life satisfaction through the meaning of work”. CD JOB-CRAFTING PROMOTES EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION, NEW STUDY REVEALS SCHOOL : Deusto Business School, University of Deusto COUNTRY : Spain
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REPORT REVEALS BARRIERS TO PUBLIC TRUST IN NGOs
SCHOOL : Esade Business School COUNTRY : Spain
A new report produced by the Esade Institute for Social Innovation and the PwC Foundation demonstrates the public’s lack of trust in NGOs. The report found that people outside the sector rate their trust in NGOs at an average of 6.5 out of 10. While this level is higher than those relating to media or government institutions, it is still deemed far from the levels necessary to underpin the legitimacy of NGOs. Furthermore, while 32 per cent say they trust NGOs more than they did 10 years ago, 23 per cent say the opposite. It also found that women and older people tend to trust NGOs more, while young people and men are more critical. So, what are the barriers to trust? In a survey of NGO directors, 61 per cent seemed to think the problem was a lack of funding. They also thought that there was a lack of understanding about their activities. This last point is supported by the report’s public survey, as 68 per cent of those outside the sector said that they didn’t know what NGOs do. Another issue that was raised concerns the rise of social movements, consisting of citizens working illegitimately on issues that NGOs are already involved in. In addition, NGOs were found to be more vulnerable to reputational risks, with only 19 per cent of NGO directors reporting that their organisations have risk management plans in place. According to Esade-PwC Social Leadership Programme director Ignasi Carreras, “bolstering the legitimacy of and trust in NGOs requires participatory management models, more transparent accountability and a genuine connection with the expectations of today’s society”. The report suggests that NGOs build trust using its ‘5C’ working model, namely: competition, connection, credibility, communication and community. The approach is said to facilitate improvement in terms of measuring NGOs’ impact, involving the community in decision-making processes, creating better financial transparency and creating a more authentic, two-way relationship with their audiences. EB
This year’s Vincent HoSang UWI Venture Competition attracted more than 100 student innovators from across all faculties, who unveiled ground- breaking entrepreneurial solutions, poised to revolutionise the Caribbean. Faculty of Social Sciences students Tracy-Ann Hyman and Maurice Mason claimed the top spot with an innovative disaster management system. The platform integrates flood impact analysis, evacuation protocols and early warning systems to create a defence against natural disasters. It earned them the grand prize of $400,000, plus a fully funded trip to New York, complete with exclusive mentorship from business leaders in Jamaica and a personal tour of Caribbean Food Delights, founded by Vincent HoSang, for whom the competition is named. Second place was captured by a pioneering approach to agricultural distribution. The Fresh JA team’s e-commerce platform features a patentable food-grade freshness testing tool, revolutionising the connection between local farmers and consumers. Their innovation secured them both the Best Undergraduate Team award and the prestigious JMMB Joan Duncan Corporate Social Responsibility Award. Chad Campbell from the Faculty of Social Sciences clinched third place with CNC Hydroponics, offering a transformative solution for sustainable, year-round agricultural production in Jamaica. Gold sponsor the JMMB Joan Duncan Foundation continues to champion entrepreneurial excellence at UWI. “We are not only practising what we preach, but also inspiring our current entrants to weave CSR into the fabric of their business development,” commented CEO Kim Mair. Mona School of Business and Management lecturer and Vincent HoSang Entrepreneurship Board member Ramon McLaren added: “The seed that was sowed two decades ago flourished into what we have here today, where participants have now become mentors as they believe in giving back to the programme.” CD UWI STUDENT CONTEST REDEFINES CARIBBEAN ENTREPRENEURSHIP SCHOOL : Mona School of Business and Management University of the West Indies (UWI) COUNTRY : Jamaica
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NEWS & INSIGHT
CULTURE INFORMS PREFERENCE FOR THE BEAR TYPE OF LEADER IN URUGUAY SCHOOL : IEEM, University of Montevideo COUNTRY: Uruguay
Bears are the most popular types of leaders in Uruguay, according to a study from IEEM, the business school of the University of Montevideo. The study sought to discover what people want most in a boss and matched their preferences with pre-established animal models. “The bear type of leader is characterised by being protective and caring for his people. He is strong and powerful and he is affectionate with his collaborators,” explained professor of business policy at IEEM Pablo Regent in an interview for El Observador . Other animal typologies that proved popular among participants were the eagle (forward-thinking) and the chameleon (adaptable to change). Least popular was the owl, a person who excels in intelligence and uses their experience to guide others in the dark. Dubbed It’s a Jungle Out There , the report takes its name from IESE Business School’s recent Real Leadership campaign. In total, 500 people were surveyed through IEEM’s social media networks, with an additional 100 canvassed when attending an open house event at the school. Among each group, the patterns of preferences observed were the same.
This aligns with the theory that leadership ideals and preferences are closely tied to the culture of a country. In Uruguay, according to Regent, this revolves around a tendency to pursue environments of certainty and stability, with an aversion to change. IEEM’s findings are supported by the results of another study that produced a very high score for uncertainty avoidance in Uruguay, drawing from the six dimensions of national culture defined by Geert Hofstede. “The good thing about Uruguay is that nothing changes much, but that is also the bad thing about it,” the IEEM professor debated. Part of the reason for this, he believes, is that the size of the market means if something goes wrong, the damage is great for the company and if things go well, it is difficult to move beyond certain heights. “In Uruguay, business owners prefer to avoid the risk of failure and this shows that the person who has the best chance of lasting in office is not the one who achieves great things, but the one who avoids defeat,” Regent concluded. TBD
SHARE YOUR NEWS AND RESEARCH UPDATES by emailing AMBA & BGA content editor Tim Banerjee Dhoul at t.dhoul@amba-bga.com
Ambition • ISSUE 1 • 2025 11
Professor Morris Mthombeni, dean of the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) at the University of Pretoria, talks to Ambition editor Colette Doyle about managing dilemmas in a post-complexity world, turning the Global South’s numerous challenges to your advantage and nurturing students to become humane-centred leaders In conversation with… Morris Mthombeni
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you came to take up the role at GIBS “Before taking up my initial faculty role at GIBS in 2014, I had a substantial career in the financial services industry. I held a number of senior leadership roles that gave me the opportunity to gain experience in the insurance, investment and banking sectors across Southern Africa, as well as in the UK, the Middle East and India. “While on sabbatical, I started a PhD at GIBS and, within a year, was subsequently recruited as a faculty member of the strategy department. I rationalised that a faculty role would complement my journey as a late-career doctoral student. The senior leadership team seemed to have other ideas, however, as indicated by my rapid ascent, which culminated in my appointment as interim dean in 2020 and then as dean proper in 2022.” What have been the highlights of your career? “Teaching on the MBA programme as one of the lead faculty members; refreshing the programme’s core strategy course; leading the development and implementation of our specialist master’s in corporate strategy; and driving the internationalisation of GIBS faculty. “I also need to mention contributing to the positioning of GIBS as a world-class, responsible business education provider, as evidenced by our three global accreditations and the premier African accreditation. Over the four years since I took on the role of dean, we have been accredited
and re-accredited respectively by AMBA, AABS, AACSB and EQUIS, with the latter beginning with an initial three-year accreditation in 2022, followed by a five-year accreditation in 2025. Beyond these institutional-level highlights, I have had the privilege of interacting with local and global leaders on a continuous basis, enabling me to be part of a number of events that have shaped our society.” Do you believe that in the 21st century, with the rise of alternative providers such as LinkedIn and Coursera, the MBA is still able to stand out and distinguish itself in the marketplace? “Alternative providers are responding to an important business educational need in society, but they are not fulfilling it in the same manner as traditional MBA providers such as business schools. Crucially, the MBA qualification has long ceased to be homogenous and MBAs are designed to prepare specialists for general management roles, but do so in a wide variety of ways. The multiple paths are made possible through differences in curricula and pedagogical approaches. “This heterogenous characteristic of the MBA qualification is central to its appeal and resilience. Those business schools that ensure the relevance and resonance of their MBA programmes, through continuous improvement at the intersection of theory and practice, will continue to distinguish themselves from alternative providers of business education.”
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INTERVIEW WITH THE DEAN
BIOGRAPHY
Morris Mthombeni is dean of the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), as well as a professor of strategy and governance. Prior to this, he was the institute’s executive director of faculty. Mthombeni is a senior academic who actively researches and teaches at the intersection of the micro‑foundations of corporate strategy and corporate governance. At GIBS, he is one of the senior academics in the areas of business environment, corporate strategy and innovation. He also lectures on its master’s, doctoral and executive education programmes, including the flagship Global Executive Development Programme, as well as on Harvard Business School’s Senior Executive Programme Africa. In addition, Mthombeni is an advisory board member of UN PRME, a working board member of RRBM and active in the international accreditation of community as the dean of a triple-accredited school. He is especially proud of being a champion for Africa in terms of GIBS being one of the pioneering schools accredited by the Association of African Business Schools. He also takes pride in his leadership role within the PRME Chapter Africa eco-system, especially the Business Schools for Climate Leadership Africa, a research and thought leadership partnership that he co-founded
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What kind of skills do you think are necessary nowadays in order for MBA graduates to become effective and productive leaders? “MBA graduates need to be skilled at managing dilemmas in a post-complexity world that is characterised by deep uncertainty and elevated self-interest. This means that they will have to be as skilled at navigating ethical dilemmas as they are at analysis and synthesis. “Our alumni need to manage multiple time horizons – the now and the next. The now is often high velocity and chaotic; the next is always unclear. How they navigate this is something they should be able to look back at with pride – this is where the ethical dimension of management and leadership will be critical.”
home and organisational contexts and these impact how they show up in the classroom. “Moreover, providers of management education are under-resourced compared with their peers in the Global North. This is further exacerbated by overseas students preferring to pursue their international exposure in the Global North, due to their socio-economic advantages. All these challenges are real and, at times, debilitating. “However, operating in the Global South has its advantages because our contexts expose students to a wide variety of managerial challenges with varying degrees of complexity. In short, and in my view, the advantages of the variety and complexity of managerial challenges far exceed the obvious liabilities of operating in the Global South.”
We hear so much nowadays about diversity and inclusion, as well as the concept of ‘belonging’; how can schools best train the next generation of managers and entrepreneurs to implement DE&I practices in a responsible manner? “GIBS has three strategic imperatives aimed at amplifying the best of Africa to the world. The one relevant to diversity and inclusion involves nurturing our students to become humane-centred leaders. Given our history in South Africa, this is achieved through ensuring that DE&I is embedded in both the informal and formal curricula of our MBA. “Informally, diversity
What has becoming AMBA-accredited meant to your school? “International accreditation is a mark of quality for our institution. We are especially proud of our AMBA accreditation because it was the first such validation afforded to our school’s flagship qualification. Prior to that, GIBS was only known in its immediate vicinity. “Naturally, since the initial accreditation in 2007, GIBS has been of interest to students and employers across our region and, latterly, at a global level. This means we have been able to attract students from throughout our country and beyond from the
GIBS has attained the highest levels of global accreditation and attracts students on both a national and international level
and inclusion as a topic is operationalised through our norms, values and socialisation mechanisms. Formally, it is mainly embedded in core MBA courses such as Business in Society, Organisational Behaviour and Strategy. We induct our students into this approach at the start of their MBA journey, enabling us to embed responsible management education approaches throughout their stay at GIBS. “Our active engagement in the Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) and the Responsible Research in Business Management (RRBM) communities also contributes to our formal curriculum. Our approach to teaching DE&I practices is grounded in respect, humility and willingness to be vulnerable.”
leading companies with interests in Africa. Consequently, the GIBS MBA is one of the most sought‑after in the whole of the region.” The management education sector is truly international, but what do you feel are the challenges specifically affecting Africa and the Global South? “On the one hand, I could regale you about the difficulties in balancing the interests of both local and international students. For example, in local markets the need for higher management education outstrips the supply. Also, the cost of such education is prohibitive for most students in the Global South. Many of the students operate in complex
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INTERVIEW WITH THE DEAN
Students at GIBS benefit from the school’s commitment to embed sustainability into its MBA programme, alongside a determination to be at the forefront of digital leadership
The impact of AI and other generative algorithms such as ChatGPT on business school education has been well documented – what’s your take on it at GIBS? “Informed by the growing digital divide between the Global North and Africa, it should come as no surprise that another of our three strategic imperatives is digital leadership. We are keen to embrace technological advancements, including AI and other generative algorithms. “While GIBS is not a school of engineering nor an institute of technology, we are determined to ensure that our graduates engage competently in an AI-driven world. At a practical level, we begin with strategies and policies years, we have introduced a digital track in our MBA programme and having the latest technology alongside sustainability is increasingly driving our international partnership ambitions.” The topic of sustainability has been embedded into MBA programmes around the world – how integral do you think it is to the concept of leadership? “GIBS has long been committed to sustainability, something that is evidenced via its membership through the Global Business School Network, PRME and RRBM, among others. Working with these and similar like-minded communities, for acceptable use of AI and large language models and we are continuing to incorporate AI applications into our core MBA courses. “Over the past two
GIBS has been able to embed sustainability into its MBA programme. Given that climate leadership is another of GIBS’ three strategic imperatives, it’s clear that we believe sustainability to be core to the concept of responsible leadership. However, the idea of responsible leadership is going through a period of stasis due to current geopolitical shifts. For this reason, GIBS is elevating its commitment to responsible leadership in its MBA programme.” With all the economic and geopolitical upheaval the world is facing, do you believe there is still room for optimism when it comes to the future of the business school sector?
“Prevailing economic and geopolitical tensions are upending the rules of the game by which many institutions have been operating. In the short term, the business school sector will not be spared. Inspired by scientists like Johan Rockström, who introduced concepts such as
“The idea of responsible leadership is going through a period of stasis due to current geopolitical shifts. For this reason, GIBS is elevating its commitment to the concept in its MBA programme”
planetary boundaries to non-scientists in sectors including management education, many schools have been shifting towards embracing regenerative business concepts. “However, the growing prominence of climate denialists is fast undoing all the progressive work towards a more inclusive society. In this context, the kind of responsible management education being offered by business schools ought not to rely on optimism, but on relentless action aimed at a more sustainable world because, in the long run, science will prevail.”
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Positive psychology, the search for a more sustainable future and the need for business schools to act as agents of societal change were all on the agenda at the recent AMBA & BGA Asia Pacific conference, held in Kuala Lumpur. Colette Doyle presents the highlights Connecting
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AMBA & BGA ASIA PACIFIC CONFERENCE
T he rapidly changing nature of business was the topic of the first session at this year’s AMBA & BGA Asia Pacific conference, presented by Professor leaders for business sectors that do not even exist yet. The traditional 10-year plan is “no longer viable”, cautioned Gudmundsson, noting that schools need “to think short term and be purpose-led”. She outlined a number of mega-trends that are currently having an impact on society, including holistic well-being, a restorative economy, ecological reconstruction and a fairer digital world. “We must harness the full potential of the talent available so that organisations can thrive in a VUCA scenario”, she urged. The QUT dean declared herself a big fan of positive psychology, noting that future leaders “need to be more resilient and assess situations without giving up hope”. This is something that is a greater mental health challenge since Covid, given that, in Gudmundsson’s opinion, “students can easily become disheartened”. She also called for “a more significant level of authenticity” as well as “a heightened emphasis on communication – not just top-down but collaborative and community-focused”. Surviving & thriving in constantly changing times Bhaskar Chakrabarti, academic dean at the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, talked delegates through the critical juncture at which the country’s business education landscape finds itself. On the one hand, the Reserve Bank of India is projecting a robust 7.2 per cent growth rate and business schools are riding high on this wave of optimism. Yet, challenges loom large: the arrival of international business schools setting up campuses in India is intensifying competition, threatening to lure away potential students. In addition, retaining top-tier faculty has become more difficult than ever and the struggle for work placements is intensifying as an increasing number of graduates vie for coveted roles. Amanda Gudmundsson, executive dean at Queensland University of Technology Business School. She commented on how job titles such as ‘prompt engineer’ are coming to the fore, adding that educators are trying to prepare new So, how can schools thrive in an era where change is the only constant, asked Chakrabarti, commenting wryly that this was akin to the “Netflix model of education”. This is when students seek programmes “as flexible as their yoga schedule” and undertake interdisciplinary courses, something he likened to a pizza with a paneer tikka topping. Schools are having to adjust by introducing innovations to their curriculum, offering credit accumulation and modularity. Interdisciplinary courses and collaborative ventures are also increasingly popular; there has been a fusion of different disciplines, as he pointed out, for instance finance merging with psychology, or marketing with AI. Moreover, schools are embarking on collaborations with other institutions to create more innovative programmes. “Bringing the outside in” is another response to the need to keep MBA courses fresh remarked Chakrabarti, by which he meant simulations and live projects for practical learning, as well as building resilience and adaptability through experiential education. In terms of addressing placement challenges, modular courses offer tailored learning, while holistic preparation combines interdisciplinarity with practical skills.
IN KL
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of the one situated in the north of the country. He added that his school has placed significant emphasis on experiential learning and noted that “business simulations are important too”. Manli Huang, associate dean of the School of Business Administration at the South China University of Technology, remarked that there is a distinct focus on the concept of entrepreneurship at his school, while Eva Khong, associate dean of the Faculty of Finance at the City University of Macau, explained how they have been organising a Silk Road conference on entrepreneurship networking since 2019. She described this as “a platform for collaboration and a chance to discuss capacity building, as well as leadership development”. Kenji Yokoyama, dean of external affairs at NUCB Business School, talked about his school’s graduate programme for “successful innovation” in which students “make a presentation to corporate executives in the same way that a consultant would”. Alumni are
Yusniza Kamarulzaman, dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics at Universiti Malaya ( above ), offered a warm welcome to delegates; Hassan Abu Bakar, dean of the Othman Yeop Abdullah Graduate School of Business ( right ) outlined some of the sustainability initiatives that have been introduced by his institution
encouraged to learn from the local community, which espouses regional sustainability in inner cities to “ensure a good balance between prosperity and nature”. Rongjian Yu, dean of the MBA school at Zhejiang Gongshang University, recalled how the school had recently joined the Silk Road network. During 2025, it plans to hold a green business case competition using “a table tennis model”, ie one in which participants can accumulate points. Wang then moved on to the topic of digitalisation, with QUT executive dean Amanda Gudmundsson noting that digital should be “used as a business tool – it’s not so much about the tech per se , but how it can be utilised to empower management”. She remarked, too, that the environmental issue poses “a challenge that is too big for any single school, we absolutely must collaborate”. By way of example, she referenced how at QUT the deans of business, law, science and engineering are all working together to set up a centre for clean energy. Also on the panel was George Iliev, strategic projects & innovation director at AMBA & BGA, who provided a couple of pertinent examples. Kings College’s EMBA course has devised a decelerator programme, which functions as the opposite of an accelerator; it involves students going to Scotland for five days to
Meanwhile, as far as faculty retention is concerned, the IIM Calcutta dean pointed to flexibility in workspaces and a focus on research, as well as the need to adapt to global trends in academia. He then turned his attention to societal impact: at IIM Calcutta Innovation Park there are grassroots initiatives and collaborative projects taking place with both government bodies and other diverse stakeholders. Business schools “must act as agents of societal and economic change”, advocated Chakrabarti, adding that there is optimism for future growth as long as education continues to make an impact. Employing a cricket analogy, he ended on an upbeat note: “With the right strategy, we can hit it out of the park”. Environmental entrepreneurship & digitalisation Professor Zhongming Wang, international advisor for China at AMBA & BGA, took to the stage for a debate on the elaboration of MBA programmes for sustainable, digital and greener futures. Firstly, schools should implement a curriculum development strategy with an emphasis on soft skills and new leadership development to prepare students with key competencies for sustainable careers, remarked Wang. Secondly, responsible business operations must aim to create
new value and stimulate global competitiveness, while ecological transformation includes green AI and sustainable entrepreneurship modules for various postgraduate business programmes. Hassan Abu Bakar, dean of the Othman Yeop Abdullah Graduate School of Business at the Universiti Utara Malaysia, noted that his institution has aimed to reduce travel by focusing on the Kuala Lumpur campus instead
( From left to right ) Andrew Main Wilson, CEO, AMBA & BGA, Amanda Gudmundsson, executive dean of the Faculty of Business & Law at QUT and Bhaskar Chakrabarti, academic dean at the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta addressed the conference on a range of topics
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AMBA & BGA ASIA PACIFIC CONFERENCE
“work is worship” has long gone. He cited statistics that showed the average attention span of a student was two minutes and 45 seconds in 2015; it has since declined to just 21 seconds. So, how can teachers inspire in such a climate, pondered the Rohtak director. He latched onto the word “rigour”: students are not just looking for entertainment in the classroom, but also, in his opinion, for extraordinary teachers who will strive for the highest standards. Breaking down barriers to collaboration Chaired by AMBA & BGA’s regional relationship manager for India, Shikha Taunk, the conference’s eighth session took the form of a panel debate focusing on how to maximise international collaboration. It examined the unique opportunities and critical factors that foreign institutions must consider when partnering with Indian business schools. Ram Kumar Kakani, director of the Indian Institute of Management Raipur, began by referencing the opportunity for Indian schools to develop master’s programmes jointly with European institutions. This is an initiative that has been facilitated by a new policy elaborated by the Ministry of Education. The disruption caused by digitalisation and the introduction of AI in the classroom are key factors when it comes to international collaboration, according to Mahadeo Jaiswal, director of the Indian Institute of Management Sambalpur. He noted that India has the third-largest ecosystem in the world for start-ups, with 130,000 such firms already registered. The challenge now, claimed Jaiswal, is to educate industry so that it partners with business schools, ensuring that they can educate properly in this regard, ie in the context of software, digital payments and platform transformation. Chahat Mishra, head of international relations at Great Lakes Institute of Management, talked of the need to “bring India to the world rather than vice versa”. The spirit of internationalisation is “cross-cultural collaboration” in Mishra’s opinion but, as he remarked, India is so diverse, it’s already in that mode. He advocated for schools bringing in industry gurus and heads of state to interact with MBA students, so that they can in turn cater to the needs of companies operating in a challenging geopolitical scenario. Bhaskar Chakrabarti, academic dean of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, reported that his institution organises student exchange programmes with no fewer than 100 partners during its two-year MBA. He also noted how the course must have at least 40 per cent international content. “We have alumni, partnerships and scholars around the world”, he commented. Ranjeet Nambudiri, dean of faculty at the
relax and take time for self-reflection. Meanwhile, London Business School brings its MBA cohort to a local prison in order to introduce them to inmates convicted of white-collar crimes such as fraud, thereby giving them the opportunity to gain a different perspective. Integrating AI technology into teaching The presentation given by Cesim China managing director Wen Wu focused on how to effectively integrate AI technology into pedagogy. She described the company’s teaching assistant platform as containing “the latest-generation AI frontier models trained with simulation-specific data”. Wu explained that the tool “acts as a sounding board for ideas regarding coursework and reinforcing key concepts, as well as a continuously developing toolset designed to ensure teaching staff are at the top of their game as far as experiential learning is concerned”. She allayed fears that the AI-powered assistant would replace faculty, noting that it acts as “an autopilot for teaching, but the human instructor would always be in the driving seat”. Cesim’s technology can help lecturers with various aspects of their work. One scenario outlined by the Cesim China MD was that of a teacher meeting students for a mid-term review and asking for an analysis of their performance to date, along with a handful of insightful questions that could be posed to them. The Cesim AI tool can also provide real world examples from a regional context that teaching staff can use. In terms of a case study, Wu referenced how the ESG version of the company’s banking simulation includes the decision to issue a green bond. If a team decides to issue this kind of bond, they need to write a prospectus and that prospectus is then given to the AI platform, which will evaluate it according to six different parameters. Helping lecturers to achieve academic excellence In an impromptu conference session, Dheeraj Sharma, director of the Indian Institute of Management Rohtak, spoke about achieving academic excellence in higher educational institutions. He advocated for a reduced workload for faculty, remarking that he believes business school lecturers should not do any administrative work, but should “focus on excellence in teaching” instead. Such an approach, he maintained, would enable teaching staff to achieve having their research published in peer-reviewed journals more easily. However, noted Sharma, it is difficult to attain a first-rate educational experience in these post-Covid times; attitudes to work have changed dramatically and the previous mindset of
Indian Institute of Management Indore, remarked on the huge diversity of the Indian subcontinent where “the dialect changes every 10 miles”. He said he believed it was important for MBA students to interact with the local population “at the bottom of the pyramid” and related how a first-year cohort had spent a week engaging with one of the area’s rural communities.
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Strategies for internationalisation Professor Yvonne Lim Ai Lian, associate deputy vice- chancellor at the Universiti Malaya (UM), began her talk by noting that Malaysia will expand enrolment to reach some 250,000 international students by the end of 2025. As of December 2023, the number of international postgraduate students at UM totalled almost 7,000. She went on to outline UM’s own internationalisation policy; it is based on three key agendas: visionary leadership, global reputation and impactful partnership, each with three strategies and a number of action plans attached. “Not everyone embraces internationalisation easily”, noted Lim, adding that “a whole campus approach was essential to embed it within our community”. UM’s approach to visionary leadership focuses on championing global strategies, nurturing future leaders and leveraging cultural diplomacy, while in terms of global reputation the aim is to elevate the UM brand, positioning it as a vital hub and strengthening its presence in the region. Meanwhile, impactful partnership revolves around promoting influential collaborations, harnessing collective strengths and establishing academic diplomacy. Initiatives at UM include academic, research and mobility collaborative programmes, while partnership activities involve joint publication, supervision and grant applications. Moreover, a number of workshops, conferences and seminars are held in collaboration with other institutions, along with dual academic programmes. The university has strategic alliances with a roster of international bodies, including the Silk Road Universities network, the UN’s Academic Impact framework and the Association of Commonwealth Universities. There are also various collaboration models in place at UM, such as study visits, including presentations, exchanges and learning about topics of interests; research collaboration with potential partners for funding opportunities; and staff exchanges to foster greater knowledge sharing. Lim also gave examples of some short-term mobility programmes offered by UM, including Business Language & Culture, Education
deputy vice-chancellor of academic and international, Professor Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani. He began with some statistics: Asia‑Pacific is home to approximately 4.7 billion people, equivalent to around 60 per cent of the world’s population; the region was expected to experience a projected GDP growth rate of 3.9 per cent by the end of last year and is tipped to become the world’s most lucrative market for higher education. The UUM deputy vice-chancellor then went on to list some of the geopolitical tensions currently at play in the region. These include US-China rivalry and other territorial disputes; regulatory pressures such as visa policies and collaboration restrictions; economic volatility, ie trade disruptions or funding challenges; technology risks such as cybersecurity, AI or IP concerns; and finally demographic and environmental issues, which cover aging populations and climate impact. However, Sani was at pains to point out that it is not all doom and gloom; indeed, geopolitics also provides business schools with a good number of opportunities, such as a growing demand for education thanks to an emerging middle class, as well as the development of regional hubs – he noted in particular how Malaysia is a fast-growing example of this. Then there is cross- border collaboration, involving regional integration within bodies such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) community and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Digital transformation, including online and hybrid learning, also plays a part, as does the focus on sustainable development through the UN’s SDGs and ESG-focused programmes. Moreover, there are partnerships between industry and academia that involve innovation, research and curriculum development, particularly in the areas of fintech, AI, green technology and smart cities. Sani then highlighted the top five reasons for choosing to study in Asia-Pacific: top of the list is how welcoming it is to international students, followed by high quality teaching, then
for Sustainable Development and International Indigenous Mobility.
Tackling geopolitical challenges Geopolitics in Asia Pacific and the challenges it poses for business schools was the subject of the presentation given by Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM)’s
( From left to right ) Professor Zhongming Wang, AMBA & BGA’s international advisor for China hosts a debate on sustainability and digitalisation; Shikha Taunk, regional relationship manager for India at AMBA & BGA, chairs a panel on international collaboration; UUM’s deputy vice-chancellor of academic and international, Professor Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani
20 Ambition • ISSUE 1 • 2025
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