AI: Harbinger Of Unprecedented Wave Of Automation

In recent years, the progress of artificial intelligence (AI) has greatly changed people’s work and lifestyle and intelligence has appeared in various fields, bringing great convenience to people and has been widely used in the field of management education too. AI has often been discussed as a harbinger of an unprecedented wave of automation, thereby shifting the distribution of labour among occupations and industries and reshaping future jobs. 

“AI has led many to believe that AI will soon out think humans. AI should not replace school leaders in making decisions as leaders' moral values cannot be easily encoded in data. AI is not a plug-and-play technology with immediate returns in business schools. If school leaders allow the value of data to override the value of the people whom the leaders serve, then the leaders justify replacing themselves with robot leaders who endow AI with all decision-making power,” shares Srinivasan R Iyengar, Director, Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, University of Mumbai.

Industries consider individuals with professional work experience to have better hard and soft skills, greater career focus and higher capability to adjust themselves in an organisation. “The employment market not only demands graduates with a high level of academic knowledge, but also seeks in them core competencies essential to succeed in the work environment. However, there often is a gap between the academic preparation at institutes and the competencies and skills required in the industry,” underlines Iyengar on changing expectations of corporate world.

JBIMS internship programmes developed through an industry-academia collaboration would be more relevant and connect theories to workplace realities. The key factors to having a good internship experience are expectation of gaining practical exposure; good long-term relationships with the company; guidance from faculty member from respective companies and internship meeting interns’ curriculum requirements. Students get a bird’s eye view of the various aspects of working in a particular industry or a job role. Internships boost self-confidence, self-esteem and interpersonal skills. 

Now days, there is a shift from imparting mere basic management skills to multi-skills in an integrated manner. In this context, the workshops, guest lectures and exposure to live projects would help college students in improving non-technical skills demanded by industry and making them industry ready from the entry-level worker to the senior-most positions.  Creativity, collaboration, persuasion, time management, adaptability and emotional intelligence are few of the most demanded soft skills.

In the current competitive environment, a knowledge-based economy plays an imperative role in higher education institutions. As a learning institution, JBIMS will be capable of delivering knowledge and skills, producing excellent graduates because of the blend of regular and guest faculty members. “We have over 100 visiting faculties representing from leading corporates with rich experience of industry and academia. We engage most of our alumni for teaching and mentoring students. We witnessed good investments for renovating buildings, classrooms, library,” states Iyengar updating about the infrastructural development at the institution.

Maharashtra government implemented NEP in June 2023 with the four-year undergraduate degree. JBIMS is an autonomous institute, affiliated to University of Mumbai. The university has established the task force, working groups and committees dedicated to the effective implementation of NEP. University committees are preparing an institute development policy, curriculum development, teachers training, technology integration and policy implementation. All graduate, science and arts programmes have started implementing NEP 2020. JBIMS has implemented NEP in MSc Finance programme from this academic year onwards.  

Students are increasingly attuned to global issues such as climate change, social justice and pandemic preparedness. They seek educational institutions that address these concerns and offer opportunities for engagement and impact. “In my nearly 25 years of teaching, I have seen a recent change in the kind of students that business schools draw. Management students are concerned about the mounting threats of climate change, income inequality, healthcare and more. They want to learn the essentials of running successful businesses. Revamping the business curriculum is a major undertaking,” Iyengar believes. “The idea, rather than teaching management as simply a precise science, is to bring in a bit of the liberal arts. Rather than trying to ‘teach’ ethics to fully grown adults, the goal should be to help students examine their own ethics and values to help students develop wisdom,” he goes on to say.

By incorporating subjects like data analytics and its applications, leadership skills training, executive coaching and disruptive business models, business schools can teach contemporary skills that will support students immediately after graduation. Skill development is also impacted by location. “We are living in a world where a person at any stage of the career is faced with several unique challenges, be it related to strategy, overall business operations or the way one manages people with different expectations and aspirations. While on the job learning is often cited as the best way for a person to evolve, it is important to understand that one needs to keep his/her skills current,” suggests Iyengar.