MBA In The AI Era:IIM Ahmedabad Director On The Changes In Management Education

Ahead of the BT-MDRA India’s Best B-Schools Ranking issue, Business Today Group Editor Siddharth Zarabi spoke with Professor Bharat Bhasker, Director, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), about the future of management education and the forces reshaping the MBA. IIM Ahmedabad has once again claimed the top spot in Business Today’s business school rankings. In this wide-ranging conversation, Professor Bhasker explains what it takes for a leading management institute to remain relevant amid changing industry needs and growing competition. He discusses IIM Ahmedabad’s focus on faculty development, industry-linked research, alumni engagement and a long-term approach to curriculum design. Bhasker also explains why the MBA will remain relevant in the age of AI, but argues that management education must shift from knowledge acquisition towards judgment, leadership and problem-solving. He discusses how AI could reshape classroom learning, case studies and management curricula. The conversation also covers IIM Ahmedabad’s Dubai campus, its experience amid uncertainty in West Asia, changing B-school admissions and the growing diversity of students entering management education. Bhasker further discusses the need for Indian business schools to document and publish research based on Indian business challenges, and how Indian management ideas and frameworks could gain greater global recognition in the years ahead.