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BGA | BUSINESS IMPACT
In which areas should Business Schools focus their collaborative efforts? One important area could be AI and the way Business Schools
A s global disruption puts pressure on Business Schools to innovate and display agility, it has never been more important to build strategic partnerships across the world, to pool resources and knowledge. Octavio Ibarra, Dean of Universidad del Norte's Escuela de Negocios in Colombia, addressed this challenge in his presentation at AMBA & BGA’s Latin America Conference in Quito, Ecuador towards the end of last year. In this interview, we find out more. What are the challenges of building Business School partnerships? One of the main barriers is not being able to unify the criteria in the business context – especially in Latin America, where it is important to identify the evolution of Business Schools. Furthermore, it is important that we have shared purposes in academic initiatives and social impact. There are several Business Schools leading social initiatives, but we should have more of a focus on sharing those initiatives and building strong partnerships in order to impact our society. What is the value of holding an accreditation, such as those provided by AMBA & BGA? It is common to have different stakeholders – and each of the stakeholders put [different] pressures on Business Schools. We can’t only be focused on student-centred orientation in terms of fulfilling programme expectations; or only focus on revenues. Organisations such as AMBA really help us to improve our work performance and it is very helpful.
‘We can’t only be focused on student-centred orientation in terms of fulfilling programme expectations’
are able to use this emerging technology to benefit our students’ collective experience. Another example could be developing initiatives to support small companies. I'm sure every Business School in Latin America contributes to small businesses in some way, but we could collaborate to help the performance and outcomes in this area. What are the key trends that are influencing, or may influence, business education in the future? Technology is definitely a key trend, for example, [widening] access to internet and AI. Another trend would be the way that business education is able to relate to other disciplines. What advice would you give to a Business School that is wishing to develop its global brand? There are so many areas in the business field, so Business Schools should bring a clear message to its customers in one or two areas. First, work on your identity; look at your prime entity concept and articles of association. After this, you can consider how relevant these are in terms of the market. Then, focus on one or two areas and [make sure you are] relevant in those areas. Do you think that Business Schools are doing enough to create sustainable and ethical leaders? There are so many initiatives coming from Business Schools in the [sustainability] area, but there is still so far to go. I think that Schools should keep moving forwards with these initiatives – especially with regards to climate change, where there is a great opportunity for Business Schools to help solve problems for humankind. We should have partnerships for that specific purpose. What are some of the benefits of pursuing an MBA in Latin America that candidates might not find elsewhere? In Latin America, it's important to have students that can focus on strategic management. This does not only mean providing students with technical knowledge of particular areas, but
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