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
18 Ambition • ISSUE 1 • 2025
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