CATERING to leaders and decision-makers exposed to innovations and cutting-edge technologies in their respective industries, business schools should look at digitalisation through a different lens.

To respond to the needs of their clients, business schools must ensure that they remain relevant in an increasingly digital world and embrace modern and digital learning methods. With countless lessons to leverage from organisations, it is easy to see why more business schools are investing in technology to enhance learning outcomes.

Industries and sectors are becoming more interconnected than ever before as firms pursue digital transformation initiatives. To enable business leaders to thrive in the digital economy and enhance their ability to build human connections and social capital, business schools should leverage the capabilities offered by technology. With the right technology to support and improve pedagogical needs, the learning experience and results can open a wealth of untapped possibilities for learners and business schools.

The pandemic has paved the way for the rise of hybrid work arrangements. To accommodate the shift from purely office-based work to remote work environments, businesses are adopting digital technologies that facilitate online collaboration. Business schools must prepare for these changes by utilising technologies to enhance teaching methods, improve the learning experience, and revise their programmes to reflect the opportunities and challenges within industries. By helping students acquire an exhaustive range of skills and abilities which includes a strong business-related foundation, extensive technological awareness and effective soft skills, business schools can help mould dynamic, agile and inspiring business leaders and decision-makers.

The following are three innovative and game-changing best practices from top organisations that will enable business schools to thrive and educate prominent business leaders.

Work across boundaries

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL

Business schools should collaborate across schools, departments and with other organisations, fostering partnerships with innovation hubs and startups for a broader business perspective. To survive challenges in uncertain times when it is difficult to predict the future, business schools should become more prepared by being open to collaboration and by accepting their vulnerabilities.

With the rise of distance learning, business schools should invest in a setup that combines multiple classroom and collaboration modes that deliver improved levels of learning outcomes, retention and student engagement. They would significantly benefit from a device-agnostic platform that features an intuitive interface, through which educators can utilise technology to engage with learners directly and thereby improve retention of knowledge.

When it comes to working across physical and digital barriers, Insead Business School is one example of an Asia-Pacific educational institution that has adopted technology to improve learner engagement. In April 2021, the multi-campus institution launched a platform that helps executives access learning resources from anywhere in the world.

Insead takes a unique approach to live virtual teaching, following two broad principles. They follow a learner-centric approach that keeps learners empowered, active and engaged. In addition, they believe in empowering their faculty to exercise the same skills in the classroom in a live virtual setting as well.

Allow room for failure

Another lesson drawn from startups and innovative companies is related to the permission to fail. Business schools should teach future leaders that failure is often part of the road towards success, and managing these failures by learning from them is essential. They should also emphasise the importance of knowing when to fail - such as testing concepts and ideas during the earlier phases, so there is lower chance to fail in bigger events.

Failures can provide valuable feedback and lessons that can help an organisation identify gaps, obtain new knowledge, and help succeed in the future. By giving space for failure, business schools are empowering business leaders to embrace healthy risk-taking.

Innovate based on your goals

Innovation must be driven by goals, learners' objectives and needs. Business schools should recognise the ways technology enhances and augments their processes. However, they must also ensure that technology is used in a way that limits unintended consequences lest it becomes a detractor.

When any organisation innovates just for the sake of innovating, the effort is not only counterproductive and a waste of resources, but may also negatively impact the learning experience. When pursuing innovation, business schools must ensure that digitalisation initiatives serve their functions of improving processes and meeting learner objectives.

In the world of business education, boundaries continue to be pushed in terms of creativity, both in theory and in practice. The need to adapt in an increasingly digital world, to collaborate beyond distance, industries and organisations, and to innovate, are all crucial endeavours and have become the core facets of all successful companies. Business schools must follow this example to ensure they thrive in an increasingly competitive world.

• The writer is vice-president of meeting and learning experiences, Barco Apac.