Top B-schools Get Set For Industry 5.0

On 4 August, the Lok Sabha passed the Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which aims to make the management of the IIMs accountable to the President of India. The earlier IIM Act, which had come into force in January 2018 had granted the premier B-schools more autonomy. Replying to a debate on the Bill in Parliament, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, said that the Union government had no intention of interfering with the autonomy of the IIMs. The Bill was subsequently passed by the Rajya Sabha on 8 August and has since passed into an Act. 

The new Act, which amends the IIM Act of 2017, stipulates that the President will be a visitor to the IIMs and will possess powers to audit their functioning, order investigations and appoint or remove directors. It clarifies that: "The Visitor may appoint one or more persons to review the work and progress of any institute, to hold enquiries into affairs thereof and to report in such manner as the Visitor may direct. The board may also recommend to the Visitor an enquiry as deemed proper against the institute which has not been functioning in accordance with provisions and objectives of the Act."

Critics argue that the law undermines the autonomy of the IIMs and implies a major dilution of their independence. India's principal Opposition party, the Indian National Congress, has accused the central government of attempting to control the IIMs and ensure ideological conformity through this amendment. The Act, says Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh, was an unwelcome aversion to independent decision-making.  

Several IIM directors too have expressed their concerns saying that the concept of a visitor is a free pass for the government to exert direct control over the IIMs. According to the directors, the current model of an independent board governing B-schools has proven successful internationally and could also work in India. It is in this backdrop that we present our annual feature on the best business schools in India. 

Over the years, India has become one of the leaders in the field of management education. According to the Graduate Management Admissions Council, India has the second-largest pool of management graduates in the world. This phenomenon no doubt, has been achieved through the sheer explosion of the number of B-Schools around the country. Not all of the mushrooming business schools conform to the same standards of quality, however. 

The reputation of the legacy institutions, the, the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) have remained unimpaired and they continue to churn out quality human resources who make their presence felt in almost all walks of life. These institutes have now been shaken and stirred as they prepare to keep abreast of industry expectations, particularly industry 5.0 ‒ which loosely refers to a production model that depends on the interaction of humans and machines.

*Changing Expectations

Talking of industry 5.0 and changing industry expectations, Debashis Chatterjee, Director, IIM Kozhikode tells BW Businessworld that "B-Schools do not run according to the QSQT (quarter se quarter tak) syndrome of the industry. We are an educational institution and do not always get led by industry; we lead industry through our knowledge and systems. I am not beholden to industry; I am beholden to the currency of my thinking and the industry will follow us." 

Chatterjee adds that 5.0 is not going to be radically different. It will be a point of technology taking over routine work. The rest of what technology cannot take up becomes a province of business, management and leadership. What artificial intelligence (AI) cannot do is intuitive thinking, connecting the dots, recognising patterns from data, he points out. 

Industry 5.0, incidentally, emphasises the convergence of human skills with management and technology, making the ability to handle complex human interactions and collaboration even more crucial, especially in the post-pandemic and hybrid work-culture era.  "Industries now look for graduates who not only possess technical expertise in their specialised fields but are also well equipped with essential people skills," says Himanshu Rai, Director, IIM Indore. 

Rishikesha Krishnan, Director, IIM Bangalore is of the opinion that industry expects students to be conversant with digital technology and the digital and business interface, since all businesses are done on digital platforms now. And because of digitisation, companies are generating a lot of data. "This data enables companies to do business in a very different way. So, today’s B-School graduates need to know what questions to ask, how to derive conclusions from data to make new products and serve the existing ones," Krishnan points out. 

*Tech Savvy B-schools

India has seen a significant boom in the digital ecosystem in recent times, especially during Covid-19 when educational institutions were forced to go online to conduct classes. For the B-Schools, technology is not new as it has been a crucial part of their curriculum, be it in learning how to take major decisions on investments and markets or to utilise Tableau to understand data.

The increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) and GenAI has had a multifaceted influence and has significantly shaped how management education is delivered and experienced. With advanced e-learning platforms and tools increasingly offering unprecedented flexibility and accessibility, students can now access lectures, study materials and interactive resources from virtually anywhere, enabling more personalised and self-paced learning. 

 “AI has significantly changed our mental models and we have to be analytically sharp. This is the old-school system,” says the Director of IIM Kozhikode. “Things that AI can do; it should be allowed to do. There is no reason why the recruiter who is doing the preliminary check on students should come down to the campus. A lot of recruitment has gone online. All the fringe aspects of corporate life are taken care of and technology has made it very transparent that you don’t have to waste time and energy on these,” Chatterjee goes on to say.

Artificial intelligence and data analytics have, moreover, become integral components of management education, enabling students to analyse and leverage data for informed decision-making. This aligns with the growing demand for data-driven skills in the corporate world. 

Rai says, “We at IIM Indore have also included electives on cyber security, cryptos, etc. to keep our students updated. We also include simulations in our curriculum to help students enhance their skills. This integration of virtual and augmented reality enhances the learning process by creating immersive experiences. Students can engage in real-world simulations and interact with complex data sets, sharpening their problem-solving skills.”

* Research And Development

It is very crucial for business schools in India to establish themselves as leaders in management research. The IIMs have put up comprehensive research strategies which comprise a range of policies, incentives and funding.

At IIM Udaipur, the management allows standard teaching hours to be 90 so that the rest of the time can be allocated for research. The information available on their official website reads, "Seed money grants of USD 7,000 per project are available to the faculty. A faculty member can have three active seed projects as the principal investigator. An annual development allowance of USD 5,000 is provided to each faculty member for attendance at national and international conferences and other research-related travel."

Swanand Deodhar, Chairperson, IIM Ahmedabad says, "At IIMA research is recognised as the foremost academic practice. Our research capability is firmly rooted in the diversity of intellectual interests of the faculty, wherein members undertake research on cutting-edge interdisciplinary topics. Further, consistent with our motto, research at IIMA also informs and takes forward management practice. Our faculty makes a conscious effort to undertake practically relevant knowledge-creation pursuits."

The road forward is undoubtedly exciting. As technologies become central to human actions, novel and unprecedented opportunities will become apparent. "As the R&P office, we are committed to supporting such intellectual ventures,” reiterates Deodhar. 

*Leading in ESG

As the world faces threats from climate change, the importance of communicating these concerns to all stakeholders is extremely necessary. Observers in academic circles say that moving beyond environmental, social and governance (ESG) was the need of the hour. So how do the business schools aim to play a role in this endeavour? For starters, management institutes can boost students’ overall leadership capability. 

An attempt to inculcate sensitivity to climate change is being made at IIM Banglore through institute-wide sustainability initiatives like reducing the carbon footprint, better water usage and increasing use of solar power. The institute has produced its first carbon footprint report this year. Students have their own initiatives like clubs, where they hone their social sensitivity. Krishnan believes that leadership is developed not in the classrooms alone, but through practice, on platforms like clubs and projects. 

At IIM Kozhikode, the management ideates on and discusses climate future, among other topics. The institute is setting up a climate lab to compare multiple districts of India. What technology can do is a micro picture of districts and “What we have to do is make decisions and policies based on that. In B-Schools too, there has been a shift from a nano-stakeholder view of reality to a larger ecological view,” asserts Chatterjee.

Since these institutions have a pivotal role to play in providing solutions and leadership in these areas, the IIMs are expected to lead by example by integrating sustainable practices into their own operations and curriculum. This involves promoting eco-friendly business strategies, fostering resource efficiency, reducing waste and adopting green technologies. 

Rai says, “IIM Indore is actively contributing to these efforts through the establishment of ANVESHAN, Centre of Excellence (CoE) for waste management and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH). ANVESHAN is making a tangible impact by training senior officers from 4,800 urban local bodies (ULBs) and municipal bodies across India. These senior officers gain the knowledge and tools required to effectively manage waste and address water, sanitation and hygiene challenges in urban areas through specialised management development programmes.” 

*Distance Courses: A Big Dilemma

The IIMs do not offer distance learning programmes. They offer mostly short-term career enhancement programmes provided in distance learning mode. Interestingly, Management Development Institute (MDI) Gurgaon is offering online certificate programmes in the two categories of  ‘Long Duration Certificate Programmes’ and ‘Short Duration Certificate Programmes’ in different functional areas of executive education. 

Such online programmes facilitate working professionals to pursue executive education without compromising their professional and business engagements. Hence experts believe that India needs courses that give people a chance to gain a broad understanding of business. 

Bhimaraya Metri, Director, IIM Nagpur, Chairman, All India Board of Management Studies, AICTE and Chairman, WG-Distance Education Bureau, UGC, informs that universities scoring high in NAAC are permitted to run distance learning courses. Even though the flagship on-campus MBA/ PGDM programmes continue to grow strong, distance and online programmes run by B-Schools are also becoming popular. This is especially true of executive education, as working professionals want anywhere, anytime learning.

He insists that even in the case of certificate programmes like those on cyber security, students come for campus modules to be familiar with the campus and interact with peers. Therefore, hybrid rather than online is the future, he opines.

As India gears up to meet the ambitious target of growing a $5 trillion economy, educational institutions which create the bulwark for that economy will have to step up their performance too. As India moves on toward Kartavya Kaal from Amrit Kaal, to borrow Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s coinage ‒ the country is likely to see a steady demand for quality management graduates for years to come. The IIMs certainly do seem to be in step.

Abhishek Sharma

BW Reporters Abhishek Sharma is a Correspondent with BW Businessworld.