With digital transformation fast becoming a priority in business schools around the world, business school faculty are asking for more support, reveals a new report from AACSB International, the world’s largest business education alliance. The majority of faculty fear that their lack of knowledge about digital transformation will make their role harder.
The report, titled “Embracing the Digital Shift: Perspectives on Digital Transformation in
Business Schools” surveyed deans, faculty and IT leaders from business schools in Europe, Asia and The US about digital transformation in their institution.
The report confirmed that digital transformation is a priority for business schools, with 71 percent of faculty claiming it to be a key focus area for their school’s strategy. While faculty are aware how important it is, they have concerns.
The report found that most members of faculty believe that their role and expectations are significantly changing because of digital transformation. The report details an increased recruitment drive for IT leaders by business schools, which aims to place more focus on helping faculty to be kept up to speed with so much digital transformation.
Other findings in the report include that 70 percent of faculty in the EMEA region fear they don’t have adequate time to dedicate to digital training, and 55 percent feel that their knowledge is inadequate. However, the report found that faculty believe that digital transformation creates stakeholder value. They believe that by shifting some coursework to online, they can spend more face-to-face time on meaningful discussion.
Faculty members also worry that placing such heavy focus on digital learning will mean less human interaction and connections with students, according to the report, the challenge is finding the soft spot that maximizes student engagement and faculty willingness and preparedness.
Positively, many members of faculty acknowledged that by adapting more technology options, their students will be more prepared than ever for entering their career in the world of business.
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