Mumbai: Nearly three-fourths of Indian business school leaders expect artificial intelligence (AI) to substantially or fundamentally transform management education, but many institutions are still at an early stage of adoption, according to a survey by EFMD and BITS School of Management (BITSoM).
Survey Covers 22 Academic Leaders
The findings, based on inputs from 22 Indian business school deans and academic leaders, were released at BITSoM’s inaugural All-India Deans Conference in Mumbai.
The survey found that while 73% of respondents anticipated significant changes driven by AI, nearly 38% of those expecting fundamental disruption said their institutions were still passively monitoring developments or experimenting with the technology.
AI Expectations Outpace Preparedness
The findings point to a gap between the anticipated impact of AI and institutional preparedness, particularly in curriculum design, faculty training and assessment practices.
Changing employer expectations and evolving graduate roles emerged as the biggest concern for 59% of the respondents. Another 54% identified changing market demand for traditional MBA degrees as a major challenge, reflecting uncertainty over the skills and qualifications employers will prioritise in the coming years.
Data Privacy And Governance Major Challenges
On the challenges of AI adoption, 41% of respondents cited governance, data privacy and responsible use as their primary concern. Curriculum and assessment redesign was identified by 36%, while 32% pointed to the need to build faculty capabilities.
The report also highlighted a shift in how business schools view international collaborations. As many as 91% of respondents favoured broader partnerships involving joint research, faculty exchanges and industry-linked initiatives over standalone student exchange programmes, preferred by 9%.
Reputation And Faculty Quality Matter
Institutional reputation and faculty quality were the leading considerations in selecting international partners, cited by 85% and 80% of respondents, respectively. Mutual value creation and funding were identified as key factors determining whether partnerships could be sustained.
Discussions at the two-day conference focused on redesigning management education to place greater emphasis on critical thinking, ethical reasoning, strategic judgement and interdisciplinary problem-solving as AI tools become more widely available.
Academic leaders called for integrating AI across disciplines while ensuring students retain the ability to independently analyse information and make decisions. They also advocated a shift from traditional lectures towards project-based learning, live industry assignments and collaborative problem-solving.
The conference further emphasised the need for Indian business schools to develop management frameworks grounded in the country's digital public infrastructure, demographic changes and evolving business models, rather than merely adapting research conducted elsewhere.
Prof Saravanan Kesavan, dean of BITSoM, said the conference brought together academic leaders to examine how institutions could respond collectively to technological advances and changing industry expectations.
The discussions also underscored the importance of stronger links between research and teaching, alongside international partnerships that generate shared research, joint programmes and practical industry insights.
The conference brought together academic leaders from more than 30 Indian business schools and international institutions, including Cornell University's SC Johnson College of Business, USC Marshall School of Business, Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, Durham University Business School and Nanyang Business School at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
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