NHRD & IFIM study reveals the gap between industry and academia

On January 8, Bangalore based IFIM Business School, India’s premier AACSB accredited management institute and National HRD Network, unveiled the findings of their six-month long AACSB-supported study for developing a graduate management curriculum for the Industry 4.0.

The report titled “Curricula 4.0 – Creating Future Managers”, stated that management graduates today face a gap between what the academia trains them for and how the industry expects them to perform.

IFIM Business School along with National HRD Network, took the initiative towards framing a model curriculum for B-Schools to produce gen-next leaders in India who can effectively help enterprises surf the wave of Industry 4.0 to unlock exponential value from the ecosystem.

The study was conducted on a sample of around 300 respondents comprising senior managers across 13 industries such as IT, Consulting, Education and Manufacturing, who shared their opinions on what according to them should be the right skill set for future leaders. This was followed by a series of roundtable discussions, across the country, comprising heterogeneity of CXOs and the academia to further understand the unmet needs – present and future. The findings will be implemented into a ‘next-gen’ MBA curriculum.

The survey focused on identifying the relevance of the required skills mentioned in World Economic Forum’s “Future of Jobs Report 2018”. The survey also compared the gaps in the Indian industry the unmet needs as identified in the Harvard Business School’s Professor Srikant Datar’s book ‘Rethinking the MBA: Business Education at a Crossroads’.

Sharing his views on the survey, Dr. Atish Chattopadhyay, director, IFIM Business School said,

“This is the first time that a Business School, in India, has taken the initiative to reach out to industry executives to find out the skills required for industry 4.0 and bridge the gap between industry and academia. It is encouraging that the senior level industry practitioners involved themselves deeply in sharing their perspectives to enrich the B School curriculum. The ten needs identified for industry 4.0 along with the insights, will go a long way in aligning the future of business education with the future of work. We thank NHRDN for being our partners and Dr. Tom Robinson, president & CEO of AACSB for his support and encouragement.”

Dhananjay Singh, director general, NHRD commented on the survey, “India is in dire need of an upgrade in its management curricula to keep up with the rapid transformations across industries globally. The country’s youth are considered one of the most talented resources across the world. The survey will be a platform for corporates in the country to share their views on the skills required for the future workforce. It will guide management institutions to adopt these practices in today’s curriculum to create job-ready and continuously employable professionals. This will keep India’s academia and industry aligned, which has seen a phase of disconnect in the past.”

“I am pleased to see AACSB-accredited IFIM Business School deeply engaging business in this initiative to shape future management curricula,” said Tom Robinson, AACSB International’s president and CEO. “AACSB’s accreditation standards stress the importance of active engagement with the business community and innovation in programs to ensure graduates are future ready and equipped for tomorrow’s business world.”

According to the Curriculum 4.0 – Creating Future Managers, the key skills for future leaders are:

i) Learning orientation and analytical mindset
ii) Integration of data, communication and technology

iii) Solution orientation and problem solving

iv) Dealing with change and uncertainty
v) People and team orientation
vi) Innovation and creativity

vii) Social sensitivity and cross cultural orientation

viii) Managing self-awareness, self-development including wellness

ix) Entrepreneurial and business orientation
x) Globalisation

The survey also revealed new trends in the Indian scenario such as:

Multi-generation workforce: Mixing of industry executives with younger MBA participants
Need for continuous learning as against education as start and finish: This involves reskilling of practitioners at various levels
Curriculum needs to be individualised based on learning styles, pace and career stage
Integration of data, technology and communication in business
Research as part of curriculum
Wellness and fitness emerges as critical components of managing self
Becoming solution oriented

Dr Tom R. Robinson, president and CEO – AACSB; Dr Jagdish Sheth, Charles H. Kellstadt professor of marketing – Goizueta Business School, Emory University and Dr A. Parasuraman, professor and James W. McLamore, chair in marketing – University of Miami were also present at the unveiling of the findings.

The National HRD Network is an association of professionals committed to promoting the HRD movement in the country and enhancing the capability of human resource professionals in order to enable them make an impactful contribution to enhancing competitiveness and creating value for society.

Promoted in 1995, Bangalore based IFIM Business School became only the sixth management institute in India to receive the prestigious accreditation from the AACSB International and is currently among the seven AACSB accredited institutes in India. For more information, visit www.ifimbschool.co