What skills do businesses seek in MBA graduates? According to the Dean of the Antai College of Economics and Management in China, they’re looking for graduates with skills that transcend disciplines. Here’s how MBA programs are meeting those demands.
Technology is changing education. And if business schools don’t embrace it, they’ll be left behind. The rapid pace of technological advancements in recent years has forced MBA programs to scramble in order to keep up. However, other factors have also necessitated a change in approach.
Take the COVID-19 pandemic. With the world under lockdown and schools forced to reassess their approach to teaching, most educational institutions had to go down the route of online classes. Like so many institutions, the Antai College of Economics and Management in China had to swiftly transition to delivering classes online. This experience prompted the school to embrace new technologies and alter its approach to teaching.
Now, business schools like Antai are having to adapt to the latest wave of AI technology. According to Fanguro Chen, Dean of Antai, generative AI technologies such as ChatGPT have “already had a huge impact on what our students do and what our professors do. That raises a big question about what type of knowledge we should really teach in our business school classrooms.” (05:25)
Another challenge for business schools is meeting the demands of the evolving job market. Fanguro says that businesses increasingly want graduates with skills that transcend industries.
“The world is moving in the direction where there’s a huge demand for talents that cut across different boundaries,” he says. “You may know a little bit of technology, may know a little bit of business and law, those people will be in high demand in the future.” (07:26)
At Antai, the school’s forward-thinking approach to interdisciplinary skills is being rewarded. Graduates of their International MBA program, run in conjunction with the UBC Sauder School of Business in Canada, see a post-graduation salary increase of 160%. The reason for that is simple according to Fanguro. It’s because students “learn important skills through the program, and the corporations or the institutions that hire them will see the value of those skills.” (16:00)
Fanguro envisions the future of MBA graduates equipped with the abilities to excel in diverse industries. These individuals possess interdisciplinary skills that enable them to navigate, and succeed, across various professional domains.
In certain industries, interdisciplinary skills are already in high demand. Fanguro takes the example of the rapidly-growing fintech industry. He identifies fintech as a field that has been a rapidly evolving for the past 20 years. Companies in this sector typically hire individuals with backgrounds in both technology and finance, demonstrating the need for interdisciplinary skills. (08:53)
In this case, the need for interdisciplinary skills resulted from an industry trend: companies forming around the intersection of the finance and technology industries. This interdisciplinary trend is also evident in industries such as sustainable consulting and entrepreneurship. Businesses within these fields require a broad range of different interdisciplinary skills.
In response to the evolving demands of the job market, business schools are recognizing the need to teach interdisciplinary skills to MBA graduates. Here’s how they are actively working towards this goal.
Business schools are rarely standalone institutions. While some business schools operate independently, most are part of a larger university or college. The extent to which business schools are connected to their parent institution can vary.
Consider, for instance, Cambridge Judge Business School, where students also become members of one of the school’s 31 colleges. Within these colleges, MBA students live and socialize with students in the university’s other departments. This arrangement enables business students to benefit from the diverse perspectives offered by fellow students across different fields of study.
Other business schools take a different approach to collaboration. They may try to forge closer links with other university departments. And sometimes, they may even partner with these other departments to deliver relevant modules and electives to MBA students. For example, an engineering-focused MBA elective could be delivered by engineering faculty.
This approach equips MBA students with the interdisciplinary skills they need to thrive in today’s multifaceted job market. For example, accounting firms are not just looking for graduates with accounting skills, but with financial, communication, and marketing skills. Modern businesses are looking for MBA graduates with these wide-ranging interdisciplinary skills.
As long as schools like Antai provide students with the skills businesses seek, MBAs will continue to be as valuable as ever. Increasingly, these sought-after skills are turning out to be interdisciplinary.
If you want to learn more about studying an MBA in China, check out our China MBAGRADSCHOOLS Ambassador’s page.
