‘MBA losing appeal globally’: IIM-Kozhikode Director on UG expansion, future of management courses

IIM Kozhikode said they have to adapt to the changing dynamics of how AI and generative AI will reshape what happens to industries and enterprises, and how we are going to respond to that by tweaking our curriculum.

IIMs are generally secondhand car dealers, as far as learners are concerned – they are more or less finished by the time they reach us- Prof Chatterjee, Director IIM-K (Images obtained via IIM Kozhikode)

With the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) venturing into offering undergraduate programmes like those in management studies, data science, and economics, IIM Kozhikode Director Debashis Chatterjee spoke to The Indian Express about branching out from the traditional postgraduate programmes in management that the IIMs have been known for so far.

IIM Kozhikode launched a Bachelor of Management Studies (BMS) programme this year with 110 students at the institute’s Kochi campus – students major in management with a choice of minors in subjects including economics and public policy, and artificial intelligence and machine learning. IIM Sambalpur launched two UG programmes this year – one in management and public policy, and another in data science and AI, while IIM Bangalore will launch UG programmes in economics and data science next year, and IIM Sirmaur launched one in management studies last year.

Prof Chatterjee pointed to a “slow disenchantment with MBA (courses) across the global spectrum” and said that IIMs are on the threshold of looking more like universities.

IIM Kozhikode launched an undergraduate course this year. What were the objectives of introducing UG courses at an IIM?

We were witnessing a gradual, slow disenchantment with MBA across the global spectrum, although the story in India is still very vibrant, and the number of applications far outnumber the numbers we can take in. But we were sensing that…students wanting to invest two years of their precious life in the middle of their careers or the threshold of their careers…they are pretty picky about what they get in these two years. We thought that we have to reimagine management education from the bottom up, from the foundation level.

IIMs are generally secondhand car dealers, as far as learners are concerned – they are more or less finished by the time they reach us.

So, if we could introduce management thinking to young minds at an early stage, we could build agile thinkers…who are interdisciplinary, culturally grounded and innovation driven.

The NEP’s main themes are flexibility, research orientation, and holistic learning.

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Unlike the Integrated Programme in Management (a five-year programme after class 12 that several IIMs offer), the Bachelor of Management Studies we are offering is a standalone, full-fledged professional undergraduate degree. If you had to leave the programme after three years, you get a degree without the honours. The honours (degree) comes with research, which is going to prime students for careers in multiple places including industry. This is designed to blend academic exploration with preparation for industry roles.

You said that there is a disenchantment with the MBA programme. How do you think the course needs to change to keep up with current demands?

MBA is not a steady state programme anymore. You have to develop that which technology cannot do. And if you look at the standard management programme, they are neither here nor there. We have to now adapt to the changing dynamics of how AI and generative AI will reshape what happens to industries and enterprises, and how we are going to respond to that by tweaking our curriculum…not just to AI but to the environment and geopolitical dynamics of…war, disruption of supply chain.

All that comes into play…which was not part of the standard protocols of an MBA program.

How is an undergraduate program at an IIM likely to be different from a UG programme elsewhere?

The difference is that it will be deeply research driven. It will be an interdisciplinary curriculum integrating management, humanities, and technology. And, it will have flexible pathways. You can have majors and minors with honors, with research. You’re exposed to emerging areas such as AI, psychology, public policy, big data, sustainability. The emphasis is on critical thinking, creativity, and global perspective and ethical leadership. The focus is on developing holistic, culturally aware, and socially responsible leaders. But most importantly, we are bringing industry readiness and strong preparation for higher studies.

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Are there plans to offer other undergraduate courses as well?

BMS was the first step in expanding our undergraduate vision.

NEP 2020 encourages multidisciplinary institutions. IIM-K is exploring models that align with that spirit. The focus right now is on strengthening the BMS before expanding further. Therefore, any further UG offerings will be based on academic need, societal relevance, and institutional capacity. We are happy to have somebody majoring in economics in BMS. But if they want a specialised economics programme, we will consider that once our campus is built.

IIMs are no longer IIMs as standalone business schools. We are on the threshold of becoming ‘IIM university’. And rightly so, because the demand-supply is skewed in our direction. We have to accommodate a lot more bright people than we can currently.

Are there financial compulsions behind introducing more courses at IIMs?

At IIMs that have not had the benefit of substantial government funding in the beginning…those compulsions may be there. But for us, this is not out of compulsion. This is a conscious choice because we decided that we need to grow the IIM brand into university status.

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There’s a campus (in Kochi) that is almost on the threshold of being commissioned. But we are also trying for a much bigger campus for 1000 (undergraduate) students. So, we have to generate those funds, but we are not dependent on it.

We will have different cohorts of 50 each for a thousand (undergraduate) students. That scale is important because that’s the basic structure of all major universities. We have 110 undergraduate students now. So, we will grow 10 times from here maybe in the next 5 to 10 years.