ICYMI: Training Tomorrow’s Talent

• Offerings devoted to critical topics such as new technology, sustainability, and leadership help students develop in-demand skills.
• Experiential learning opportunities, including study abroad programs, expose students to complex real-world work situations.
• Faculty development initiatives, such as internship programs and technology workshops, ensure that professors are up to date on current trends.

 
As the world of work evolves to become more complex, globally connected, and technologically advanced, business schools must evolve as well. Schools must ensure not only that their programs highlight the skills in greatest demand, but also that their faculty have the expertise to develop those skills in their students.

Business schools around the world are meeting this twin challenge in creative ways. Below, we share a compilation of AACSB Insights articles that examine how schools are revising their curricula, supporting their faculty, and generally setting their sights on the future.

The AI Advantage

One of the most critical skills that today’s graduates must have is an ability to handle new technologies such as generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), and many schools are racing to expand offerings in this area.

“Most professionals believe that workers won’t be replaced by AI—they’ll be replaced by workers who know how to leverage AI,” write Briana Stenard, Faye Sisk, Linda Brennan, and Gregory Williams in “Teaching AI Skills Through Capstone Simulations.” During semesterlong simulation projects at Mercer University’s Stetson-Hatcher School of Business in Georgia, students explore using GenAI to handle business functions, spark team discussions, and enhance the decision-making process. These activities improve students’ skills in problem-solving, communication, and data visualization.

In “Bot or Not? Lessons on Using AI in the Classroom,” Sara J. Welch describes how Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business in New York is incorporating GenAI into its curriculum. Students are allowed to employ AI tools when they take tests, gather information for projects, and complete homework assignments. Instructors teach the basics of prompt engineering and emphasize that students cannot blindly trust GenAI to return accurate information. Faculty also bring in philosophy professors to share thoughts about technology and ethics.

At Arizona State’s W.P. Carey School of Business in Tempe, tech skills are emphasized in the AZNext Initiative, which aims to turn out more skilled workers in the fields of information technology, cybersecurity, and advanced manufacturing roles. Through the initiative—which focuses on upskilling the unemployed and underemployed—the school offers free online programs that include boot camps, internships, train-to-hire programs, apprenticeships, hands-on learning, and simulated work experiences. Raghu Santanam describes the program in “New Programs Address the Growing Talent Shortage.”

The Societal Imperative

While understanding technology is vital, so is recognizing the importance of key societal concerns such as sustainability and the conservation of natural resources. Business schools have developed initiatives with this reality in mind.

For example, HEC Paris has revamped its Master in Management (MiM) to incorporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. In “We Must Establish Urgency As Reality,” school officials explain that they have doubled the hours they spend on ESG topics in required courses; they also have ensured that about a third of the program’s electives are dedicated to such subjects. In the reimagined MiM, students study the impact of declining natural resources, geopolitical conflict, societal changes, and rapid technological advancement. In addition, they practice the entrepreneurial skills needed to develop responsible solutions to global challenges.

For schools that belong to the Global Alliance of Management Education, or CEMS, one of the most urgent responsibilities is turning out graduates who can address the ongoing environmental crisis.

BI Norwegian Business School in Oslo also adapted its curriculum, but only after conducting a survey that asked, “What Do Students Really Know About Sustainability?” According to Caroline Ditlev-Simonsen and Anna Czerwinska, few students could define sustainability or even name one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); most were pessimistic about the future of sustainable development. In response, the school has revised its curriculum to require students to engage more frequently with the SDGs and apply sustainable principles in business contexts.

Antwerp Management School in Belgium has made a commitment to “Saving the Planet Through Global Leadership,” and it provides three avenues for students to participate in that goal, writes Michael B. Arthur. Through the Global Leadership Initiative, which is integrated into all specialized master’s programs, students develop a broader global perspective and a future-oriented societal consciousness. Through Action Learning Projects, students work with peers across the school to address urgent societal issues. And through Personal Development Papers, students reflect on the ways they can integrate sustainability into their own careers.

For the schools that belong to the Global Alliance of Management Education, or CEMS, one of the most urgent responsibilities is turning out graduates who can address the ongoing environmental crisis. In “Developing Leaders for the Future of Our Planet,” Nicole de Fontaines describes the network’s compulsory Global Citizenship seminar, which raises students’ awareness of how businesses are delivering on the SDGs. CEMS also holds an annual two-day simulation of U.N. climate negotiations, where future leaders can learn how business, environmental responsibility, and policy development have become increasingly interdependent. In addition, schools in the CEMS network promote collective leadership action, as well as a focus on the long-term well-being of people and the planet.

The Leadership Edge

Leadership on sustainability issues is intrinsically a subset of leadership in general, and many schools are focusing on that broader category.

For instance, Woodbury University in Los Angeles has implemented “A Curriculum That Prepares Future Leaders.” Joan Marques describes how the school introduces students to three specific areas of emphasis. To learn about diversity, students study religions other than their own. To practice social responsibility, they devise solutions to critical problems. And to develop leadership skills, they learn to identify biases, understand mental models, and practice empathy.

At Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business in Washington, D.C., the new Business Scholars Institute is committed to “Building a Community of Future Business Leaders.” Michael Mitole explains that, through the institute, thousands of recent graduates and alumni from across the U.S. will convene in City Communities in 15 cities. Together, these individuals will form a national corps of young business leaders focused on supporting each other and working toward the common good.

The Experiential Emphasis

To help students develop leadership abilities—and other business skills—most institutions provide hands-on work opportunities.

Such learning is a cornerstone of the MBA program at the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business. In “Challenge Accepted: Experiential Learning for MBAs,” Vivek Choudhury and Lowell Valencia-Miller outline the school’s revamped 21-month program, which is divided into four challenges that focus on entrepreneurship, social good, corporate issues, and global concerns. During each 10-week session, students spend half of their time in immersive business experiences as they work directly with businesses or nonprofits to solve current problems. As the challenges increase in difficulty and rigor, students learn critical skills such as problem-solving, executive communications, and teamwork.

When students study abroad, they become more resourceful, improve their problem-solving skills, gain cultural intelligence, build empathy, develop leadership skills, and expand their networks.

In “360 Consulting Projects Make Students Job-Ready,” Christine Contessotto, Pete Williams, and Wade Halvorson describe the Business Development Clinic (BDC) run by Deakin University’s Deakin Business School (DBS) in Victoria, Australia. In the clinic, students perform “health checks” on small to medium-sized enterprises to analyze operations, identify growth gaps, and develop ready-to-implement solutions. Because the BDC is available on the school’s many campuses throughout Victoria, as well as online, it is accessible to all interested students.

Many schools consider study abroad to be one of the most powerful types of experiential learning, as Matt Lilley of Hult International Business School discusses in “The Benefits of International Study.” When students attend programs in other countries, he writes, they grow and change, become more resourceful, and improve their problem-solving skills. They gain cultural intelligence as they come to understand workstyle differences and build empathy with people who are from very different backgrounds. They also develop leadership skills, enhance their understanding of the global business environment, gain cultural intelligence, and expand their networks as they interact with diverse peers.

One school that offers international experiences is Porto Business School at the University of Porto in Portugal. In “A Gateway to Global Business Education,” Mariana Mexia describes the school’s immersive experiences known as International Weeks. Each International Week is planned with a partner school and addresses a topic of particular importance to that part of the world. Because the experiences take place in person, students build relationships, expand their networks, develop resilience, become more adaptable, and improve their cross-cultural communication skills.

The Faculty Focus

But schools must do more than provide the right curricula and learning opportunities if they want to train tomorrow’s talent. They also must make certain that faculty are current on the most crucial business trends and topics.

In other words, schools must make certain they are “Training the Trainers.” For instance, Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, and North Carolina Central University in Durham offer entrepreneurship programs that teach professors the basics of creating new businesses. Faculty at the S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research in Mumbai run workshops that show professors at schools across India how to use short simulations as teaching tools.

Other schools focus on keeping instructors up to date on new technology. In “Making Faculty Comfortable With GenAI,” Steve Muylle and Jerry Herrera note that many professors are reluctant to use AI because its answers are too general or its responses do not match their personal style. The authors suggest that schools can overcome these obstacles by training instructors on how to craft prompts—and by providing the types of tools that have been created by Vlerick Business School in Brussels. For example, the Vlerick Assignment Profiler determines whether a planned assignment could be completed solely by use of AI; the Visual Summary Creator enables users to input notes into the system, which then returns an image that summarizes the lecture or event.

Faculty development programs offer additional ways for schools to ensure that professors are performing at their best. For instance, in “Faculty Internships Nurture Cultures of Innovation,” Raul V. Rodriguez and Debdutta Choudhury describe how Woxsen University in Hyderabad, India, maintains a faculty internship program for professors who lack corporate experience. The internships, which are arranged by the school, leverage Woxsen’s existing relationships with companies that range from startups to global enterprises. Faculty who take internships remain salaried employees of the school and are allowed to reduce their teaching loads by up to 20 percent.

In addition to providing students with the right curricula and learning opportunities, business schools must make certain that faculty are current on the most crucial business trends and topics.

Schools also can support faculty development through structured mentoring programs, as Stéphane Justeau outlines in “The Vital Role of Faculty Mentoring.” The ESSCA School of Management in Angers, France, assigns mentors to new hires and provides ongoing support to beginners. In addition, the school delivers collaborative workshops that cover topics such as using educational technology, refining assessment methods, meeting learning objectives, structuring content, and creating interactive classroom environments.

Similarly, the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin–Madison runs a five-month Business Leadership Academy devoted to “Nurturing Tomorrow’s Academic Leaders.” There, academics interested in senior leadership positions can attend four modules devoted to improving self-awareness, leading with courage, learning to balance relationships, and leading with purpose. Delivered in a hybrid format, the modules also incorporate coaching sessions and follow-up microlessons to ensure that academics continue to enhance their skills, according to authors Paul Kern and Jon Kaupla.

Talent for the Future

What do these examples have in common? They all reinforce how important it is for schools to keep their courses—and their instructors—closely linked to the current and future needs of business.

There is a talent shortage across every business sector, emphasizes Santanam of Arizona State. “Universities have a great opportunity to educate the workforce to meet business demands … and ensure the economic health of the communities they serve.”

Marques of Woodbury University puts it even more simply. “I think business schools have one clear obligation. We must help leaders be the best they can be.”