14-17 May 2017 – Aerospace MBA attending AMBA’s 50th Anniversary Global Deans & Directors Conference – Dubai, UAE

After the inaugural address of Andrew Main Wilson, CEO of AMBA, the MBA Value Proposition has been discussed. Many conferences and workshops enabled to draw conclusions from this Global MBA Market Overview.

Two-year full-time MBA programs are under significant downward (including top-tier programs). One year full-time MBA programs are steadily growing in Europe while facing some contrasted trends in America and in Asia. Part-time MBA programs are also under stress. Market wants much more flexibility and digitalized MBAs. In his analysis of the “Future of MBAs”, Prof. Anand Anandalingam (former Dean of Imperial Business School) invites participants to re-think the MBA in incorporating Social Value Creation, and in taking into consideration a holistic approach to business education. While entrepreneurship is everywhere, MBA directors should cautiously deal with it in their programs. Innovation on the other hand should be reinforced. There is a need of innovative approaches with flexible MBAs (students being able to switch between any of these programs depending on work experience). Specialized MBAs are of growing interest as well as innovative designed programs, teaching across disciplines. This conference highly encourages us to reframe the Aerospace MBA program to get a flexible schedule and including more digital content while keeping its strengths (specialization, innovation, business orientation). It is above all important to keep the high-level qualification of faculty (relevant industry experience). MOOCS or digital content enable to propose specific offerings (pre-MBA, mini-MBA, intro to Finance) and to carry out learning analytics (summary, comparative performance indicators: course completion, scores in test, activity levels, badging…). Some workshops enabled to highlight the unique positioning of the Aerospace MBA several times cited as one good example of MBA achieving distinctiveness.

According to Prof. Mark Taylor (Warwick Business School) three main trends are shaping the future of MBAs:

  • Globalization (increased global trade, global competition and global connectivity): business leaders need to be culturally intelligent, they need to think on a global scale, regardless of the size of their organization.
  • Digitization: global digital economy is fast growing, and the pace of technological innovation will rise in the coming years. This leads business education to adapt to this environment and enable participants to lead organizations that are “data driven, built for change, embrace disruption and encode digital trust”. It encourages Aerospace MBA to enhance virtual learning environment, to continue all activities enabling the management of global teams.
  • Quest for relevance: according to Financial Times survey, main criteria of participants for choosing a business program are: “relevance to my area of focus” (76%), “ranking” (59%), “Cost” (57%), “Networking opportunities” (53%), “international exposure” (53%), “faculty expertise” (52%)… On the other hand, employers are using some major criteria for funding an employee: “related to company line of business” (63%), “related to employee area of management” (56%), “related to future lines of business” (45%)…

This conference has been very encouraging for the Aerospace MBA program which is well positioned thanks to its DNA (specialized in Aerospace, fully international, faculty with industry experience…). However, it sustains the current transformation of the program for more flexibility, more digital content, and more social value creation. The industry is facing new challenges with stronger convergence of technologies and business models: traditional industry value chains are turning into cross-industry ecosystems. The NewGen will hence incorporate more data analytics, sustainability and societal impact, leadership skills, strategic thinking, creative problem-solving (in line with Bloomberg Job Skills report).

 

  

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