BusinessBecause’s foretellers had a stellar 2017. All six conjectures came true, or continued to become true. 

Some stand out. Judy Olian, dean of UCLA Anderson School of Management, was oracular in calling the closure of full-time MBAs (Tippie and King’s rejected the degree; Wisconsin nearly did). Ross School of Business dean Scott DeRue, was prescient in predicting the explosion of experiential learning. And Idalene Kesner of Indiana’s Kelley School of Business was right about the growth of specialized masters programs, which outstripped the growth of MBAs.

However, they missed the huge and in some cases obvious trends: Donald Trump’s immigrant rhetoric unsettling international students; the Brexit brain drain, with faculty fleeing the UK; the rise of shorter programs, powering application growth in Europe, Canada, and Asia. 

What will 2018 herald? Each forecast below is what leading thinkers believe are the key issues facing business education and how syllabi, teaching models, and careers will change in the year ahead. You heard it here first. For a shot at glory, post your own prognostication in the comments box.

The Gender Gap Will Close… Eventually

In 2018, business schools will spur progress on gender issues, keeping gender on the business agenda, advancing solutions, and improving accountability. The World Economic Forum estimates that at current pace, closing the gender pay gap will take more than 100 years. This is not acceptable. Business schools will show the way, leveraging the research of their faculty to affect change. At LBS, many on our faculty have written on gender issues. We will continue to contribute to progress by learning from our own research, thereby improving.

François Ortalo-Magné, dean of London Business School

Inclusiveness, especially in the form of women’s equality, will play a large role in society and in business education in 2018. This will be fuelled by a growing public awareness of the many facets of inequality, such as women’s overrepresentation in part-time and low-paying jobs, and underrepresentation in management positions. In the coming year, business schools will focus on the need for structural change in business in order to foster increased female participation.

Jörg Rocholl, president, ESMT Berlin

Machines Will March

Relevance will be a key word for business education in 2018. We have to find ways to make sure we are producing the kinds of graduates the world needs today. That means continuing to refine the curriculum based on industry needs, with focuses on areas like data analytics, plus technology like artificial intelligence, or applications of blockchain. My hope is that in 2018, business schools will also pay more attention to the ethics behind tech innovation. We can’t lose the human element in technological advances, or we risk losing the values that anchor our lives. For example, our students need to think hard about the balance between rule-based algorithms, and human judgment.  

Dean Bill Boulding, Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business

There Will Be Digital Disruption

Business education will continue evolving much like the music industry. Today, we can buy and consume single tracks from iTunes at a much lower cost than buying a full album. We also have the option to stream. Likewise, students can get high-quality content from the world’s top business schools for free. We’re seeing increased interest in specialized degrees and certificates, as well as online courses that allow students to consume content when, and wherever they may be. Business schools that adapt to these new delivery models, and provide the high-quality content students want, are those that will thrive in 2018.

Scott DeRue, dean, University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business

Education Will Become Virtual

Academic institutions will increasingly use virtual reality to improve their leadership, and management skills training. One excellent example is the development of public speaking skills. We can already find VR simulators in the market that allow students to practice public speaking in front of a large, but virtual crowd. VR hence offers students the benefit of being able to practice public speaking in settings that are difficult to simulate in a traditional classroom. Also, they can practice over and over again until they perfect this skill.

Martin Boehm, IE Business School dean

Courses Will Focus On Ambiguity

Last year really brought home the need for business leaders to better prepare for, and grapple with, uncertainty. While courses on geopolitics and strategy have risen, this trend will only expand in 2018. At the same time, there will also be more focus on adapting training to the future of work, and the management and ethical challenges thrown up by the gig economy, and the rise of AI. As most of us will be living and working longer, the value of continuous education will be more apparent than ever. There will also be more emphasis on transferable skills, which make it easier to be adaptable in uncertain times.

Franz Heukamp, dean of IESE Business School

We Will Consider Our Impact On Society

2017’s dramatic political events have caused a reset for students and thus for schools, professors, and employers. With an eye to preparing students to contribute to a more open and fair society, expect to see schools place a greater emphasis on all things digital, global, and entrepreneurial. Professors across all disciplines will seek to address the role of business in our society. Employers struggling to make sense of recent events and looking to an uncertain future will demand more than expertise; they will select for maturity, wisdom, and a fresh perspective. Students yearning for a better world have found their voice. Expect them to make it heard and felt.

Seán Meehan, dean of the IMD MBA

We Will Collaborate More With Corporations

Academia has fallen way behind industry in many sectors such as fintech and e-marketing. One anticipates management schools collaborating with industry leaders to develop educational and learning programs. This is already happening in Europe, where companies and universities share labs, faculty, and research to support application-driven education. More educational programs which bring together corporate, government, and academia to develop solutions to better manage complexities in dynamic but regulated marketplaces will emerge. Relatedly, with an ever-increasing rate of information and development of new knowledge, we can look forward to“just-in-time” education taught in “bite-size” modules — often online.

Rajendra Srivastava, dean of the Indian School of Business