How business schools are adapting to challenging placement situation

In an exclusive interaction with Higher Education Review, Dr. Balakrishna Grandhi, Dean- Global MBA & Master of Global Business at SP Jain School of Global Management, shared his views on the need for academic curricula to evolve alongside global and technological changes. According to him, the key challenges include rapid technological advancements, economic fluctuations, and a widening skill gap in the industry. With an esteemed career spanning 50 years in teaching, consulting, research, and entrepreneurship, Dr. Grandhi has been part of the SP Jain School of Global Management for nearly two decades. 

Considering the current global economic slowdown and its impact on hiring, what innovative strategies have business schools implemented to boost placement opportunities? 

A lot has changed post-COVID. Buying habits have shifted, incomes have decreased, and supply chain routes have been disrupted. However, people have learned to see the challenges and identify opportunities. There are a lot of geopolitical and economic risks. Due to the wars, commodity prices are fluctuating, supply chain disruptions are prevalent, and interest rates have been rising. As a result, the entire macro environment requires students to develop a new skill set. We have frequently organized industry advisory board meetings. In every city, we hold quarterly meetings with captains of the industry who are part of our advisory board. We ask them about the challenges in their companies and sectors, and how they want our graduates to be shaped to add value.

One thing I am most convinced about is that there is no job shortage. There are plenty of jobs, contrary to what many people think. The real issue is a shortage of skills. The new challenges require a new set of Top skills. So, we talk to the CEOs of different companies, conduct conclaves, and try to understand the pulse of the changing world. We work backwards to determine how the curriculum needs to be adapted. We brainstorm with our academic team, area heads, and alumni to figure out how the curriculum should be revamped.

We have identified that the need of the hour is to help companies add value. This can be achieved by reinventing business models, creating new and improved ways to add value to customers, enhancing customer centricity, and improving operational processes. In a nutshell, the environment is changing, and the market is turbulent. However, there is no job shortage, only a skill shortage. We strive to understand the skill sets that are needed and design the curriculum to impart the most relevant skills, which, in turn, helps improve the employability of our students. 

Given that digital transformation is reshaping industry expectations, how are business schools updating their curricula to ensure students are equipped with both technical and soft skills? 

Most schools have programs or courses in silos to impart digital skills and digital literacy. However, we believe that digital skills cannot be isolated; they must be embedded in almost every course. Today, there is a digital aspect in warehouse management, customer value management, financial statement analysis, and new product development, it is all-pervasive. So, we have reinvented the curriculum with the emerging technologies. 

We offer a course that focuses on entrepreneurship by using digital technology. Technology is disruptive, but we see it as an opportunity for students to harness its potential. We also have multiple units that cover topics such as data analytics, data mining, artificial intelligence, business intelligence, and data visualization. We discuss case studies of companies that have used technology to become leaders. When I speak to industry leaders and recruiters, they often say that soft skills are just as important, if not more important, than technical skills.

We have a dedicated professional team that works with multiple initiatives to hone soft skills. Every student who joins the program is assigned to a specific team member. Throughout the one-year program, we track their progress on various attributes to ensure they are ready for employment and enhance their employability.The program comes with Artificial intelligence tools to help students and it includes feedback on elevator speeches, CV design assistance, career path guidance, and AI-driven mock interviews that will evaluate responses, body language, and articulation.

In light of the growing importance of soft skills alongside technical expertise, how are business schools rebalancing their programs to ensure that graduates are well-rounded and market-ready? 

The problem is the companies are facing uncertainty. So when I talk to the senior management, they say, we do not know the future business environment. Due to the war, the supply chains are disrupted. When manufacturing can be started in one country, warehousing can be done in another country, and the product can be sold in another country. There are uncertainties everywhere. So, they want students who could help manage uncertainty and cope with ambiguity. In our program, we help them understand, see things, and analyze data to engage in descriptive analytics. We also teach them predictive analytics. Today, with uncertainty, we teach them prescriptive analytics. Prescriptive analytics involves two things: crafting a future with an optimistic and pessimistic outlook and scenario analysis.

Given that many companies now emphasize agility and adaptability, how are business schools restructuring their placement strategies to better align with the fast-evolving demands of the job market? 

We have a corporate relations team in Singapore, India, and Dubai. We reach out to new companies, such as startups and regional companies. Recently one of our global MBA students got placed in Saudi Arabia, and he’s been given the best package possible. For example, in Singapore, if it is getting tougher for a job, we are finding opportunities in Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and other countries. In the Middle East, we are finding opportunities not just in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Bahrain. Our corporate relations team is agile, and vibrant, continuously looking at the opportunities for the students. I just received one wonderful email from a student and he recently graduated from the global MBA program. He was working for a company in the tire industry. Now, this program has helped him get into a Biotech Company. It would not have been possible without this program. I have had another student who was working in an oil sector on the downstream side that is selling the byproducts of oil refineries. Now, with the help of the program, he has gotten into the cosmetics industry in L’Oréal. So, the global MBA program has been a game changer, in shifting their careers.