EDITOR’S LETTER
EDITORIAL
Content editor Tim Banerjee Dhoul t.dhoul@amba-bga.com Head of editorial Colette Doyle c.doyle@amba-bga.com
TEACHING FOR TOMORROW Skills take centre stage in this issue of Business Impact , with features emphasising the value of looking ahead to future demands and promoting interdisciplinary thinking
Art editor Sam Price
Sub-editor Heather Ford
Insight, content & PR manager Ellen Buchan e.buchan@amba-bga.com CORPORATE Membership director Victor Hedenberg v.hedenberg@amba-bga.com BGA accreditation manager Richard Turner r.turner@amba-bga.com Senior marketing executive – digital lead Shareen Pennington s.pennington@amba-bga.com Commercial relations director Max Braithwaite m.braithwaite@amba-bga.com
T he disconnect between job requirements and applicants’ skills, as reported by employers around the world, will only be challenged further as the business sector continues to evolve at pace. For this reason, it was no surprise to learn that 73 per cent of recruiters say hiring based on skills is a priority, according to LinkedIn’s 2024 Future of Recruiting report. For business schools, the onus is therefore on ensuring graduates leave programmes with the skills currently sought by employers, as well as those that they are likely to need in the future. At Porto Business School, this requirement is categorised by an approach called ‘learning beyond now’, as dean José Esteves explains in our cover feature ( page 12 ). Being able to call on faculty expertise in other subject fields from the wider University of Porto helps “make sure that our focus isn’t limited to what students need to know in the present,” he adds. Similarly, the need for more rounded, interdisciplinary teaching is discussed by Alliance Manchester Business School’s Julia Handl in her article ( page 28 ) on managing and maximising the potential of artificial intelligence (AI). “Drawing
on a range of expertise and different disciplines,” she argues, will “equip students with the skills not only to use AI, but to analyse and, where needed, question its value when it comes to ethics, legality and other practical applications.” In Czechia, Newton University chancellor Anna Plechatá Krausová looks at an altogether different skill: grit. “We cannot ignore skills that have historically been assumed to be innate, simply because that means we don’t really know how to teach them,” she reasons, as she outlines her work in helping students build personal resilience ( page 22 ). It is certainly soft skills that continue to dominate conversations around perceived shortfalls in employers’ expectations for graduates. Here, one potentially useful framework for the future comes from our guest columnist this issue, Vinciane Servantie. She talks about the need to shift from a “risk-adverse mindset to an attitude of adventure” ( page 34 ), the idea being that each fresh crop of graduates will help companies “co-create a future” that works for both business and society. We hope you enjoy the issue.
Head of marketing and communications Leonora Clement l.clement@amba-bga.com Finance and commercial director Catherine Walke r
Director of accreditation and director of BGA services Mark Stoddard
Chief executive officer Andrew Main Wilson
Executive assistant to the CEO Amy Youngs a.youngs@amba-bga.com GENERAL ENQUIRIES bga-membership@amba-bga.com
Tim Banerjee Dhoul Editor , Business Impact
Copyright 2024 by The Association of MBAs and Business Graduates Association . 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, BGA 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 BGA. Whenever an article in this publication is placed with the financial support of an advertiser, partner or sponsor, it will be marked as such. BGA 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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Business Impact • ISSUE 3 • 2024
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