ROUNDTABLE REVIEW
A panel of business school leaders convened earlier this year in Madrid to discuss programme innovation, points of differentiation and the role of partnerships. They examined how institutions can adapt to a changing environment and thrive, both now and in the future, as Tim Banerjee Dhoul explains here
I n the context of funding pressures, the rise of generative AI and increasingly complex learner expectations, it has become more important than ever to exchange insights into ways of future-proofing business schools’ long-term sustainability. AMBA & BGA, in association with Canvas by Instructure, took the opportunity of the global conference’s gathering of industry leaders to convene a select panel of deans and directors for precisely this purpose. Ahead of the conference proceedings in Madrid, they explored the challenges ahead and how schools can not only rise to them but also enhance their role in a changing society. Which forms of turbulence have forced your institution to change its strategy most significantly in the past year? Macarena Cuenca: “There’s been a boom around microcredentials in many universities but up until now, they haven’t been so successful. We are formulating a focused strategy where we carefully position what each microcredential is for rather than offering microcredentials for everything.” Donald Lancaster: “We’ve noticed that students are becoming more transactional and many are arguably more interested in getting grades and letters after their name than they are in lifelong learning. This is fuelling the shift towards microcredentials and
stackable credentials and away from long-term programmes. While we want our students to have flexibility, microcredentials fly in the face of a lot of the benefits that an MBA programme offers, so there’s a real contradiction there.” Dan Pearson: “Socio-economic shocks around the world have necessitated a pivot to new markets and reflections on scholarships and fees strategies, driving innovative formats for business school courses.” José Martínez-Sierra: “Traditionally, our faculty would be happy to be attached to a top business school. Right now, however, those same profiles can attract huge offers from firms in industry, so we have Amazon, Google and all these new startups in the hunt for this talent. There is a similar challenge in relation to retaining students for PhD programmes and it’s something we need to pay attention to in our strategy.” Marian Garcia: “For us, it [the turbulence] has meant going back to our identity and understanding what we are known for. One of these things is our employability and connections with industry actors; that is in Aston’s DNA, so we have started to work much more closely with businesses and government agencies.” What has your business school done to diversify your offerings and revenue? Tiago Botelho: “We’ve been trying to diversify our offering in the areas of continuing professional development and lifelong learning. We’re not in London or a metropolitan city where you have a huge business community. Plus, while the region in which we are based is the second-biggest producer of agricultural products in the UK, it is only 11th in terms of transforming the product. This illustrates both the type of business community we currently have and the opportunities.” Marian Garcia: “We’ve been pursuing an omnichannel approach, with the view that students who are with us on our Birmingham or London campuses, or international hubs, can take the same degree and follow their studies wherever they are; we’ve even [experimented with] flipping our online format. It’s about understanding that people travel and offering greater flexibility.” Richard Hodgett: “We’ve got new people in place to lead on executive education and it’s an area we’re hoping to expand into,
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