The nature of work – and with it the world as we know it - is changing at an unprecedented pace. Humans are being replaced in the workplace by Artificial intelligence and automation. While technology can be harnessed to bring about positive societal transformation, historically technological advancements have favoured the already privileged and not significantly transformed the lives of the disadvantaged. It is up to the more fortunate to ensure that the benefits from technological advancement accrue not only to the top of society but to the last person in the line.
Evolutions in external environments - globalization of education, technological innovations and demands for new skills - inevitably cause a shift in how business education is perceived as well as societal expectations. Higher education institutes and especially business schools have a crucial role to play in responding to these ever-changing challenges and working towards positive impact.
Their responsibility would be two-fold – to generate new knowledge that informs and transforms the way business is conducted through their research and help raise awareness and provide a framework for reflection on the role of individual students in bringing about change, and by extension, to support students and faculty as they develop concrete strategies.
As independent India’s first B-School, XLRI has never allowed itself to become irrelevant. It has always viewed its legacy as a vantage point to take the next leap, and not the top of the tallest mountain.
It is thus imperative for XLRI to play a thought leadership role in developing business education and to drive the process. This is to be done by generating new knowledge that informs and transforms the way business is conducted as well as by updating curricula that reflect the changes in the environment.
While students, businesses, and society all have various roles to play, this represents an opportunity for XLRI to surge forward proactively and incorporate these into its own development strategy.
XLRI’s framework of transformation takes into account the five pillars as well as its underpinning philosophy – for the greater good.
The architecture of ‘greater good’
The institute has identified five principles that form the pillars of the house. These areas are expected to help the institute realise its vision, and serve as the focus for immediate action to both launch and support its journey of transformation.
It must be noted that the institute is looking to build on its legacy and not by discarding it. The pillars are built on the base of XLRI’s unique and enviable brand identity. The overarching roof, of course, is XLRI’s stated purpose of existence - and at the top, depicting the roof, is our purpose of existence - for the Greater Good, which in tangible terms translates to the need to activate and nurture social conscience. XLRI being action-oriented, the five pillars include possible Key Result Areas that need attention.
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The relevant approaches can be identified as:
- Increasing focus on partnership and network, transcending boundaries
- Ensuring that curricula reflect the needs of society and business
- Focusing on transformative knowledge creation
- Deploying flexible and contemporary teaching methods leveraging technology.
