What is the future of the MBA?

We want to look forward to a future without Covid-19, but we know that we are only just starting to grasp the long-term impact that this year of disruption is having on education systems worldwide. Business schools face great uncertainty as government anti-pandemic measures threaten to reset national economies to the pre-globalization era, which means that MBA students may find themselves reading information that has nothing to do with the current reality – some textbooks have become instantly obsolete. Much of the MBA curriculum focuses on the analysis of case studies, illustrating principles by showing how they are applied to a real-life business. Case studies are replaced and updated from time to time as a matter of course, but this turnover will become more rapid and urgent as things continue to change with unprecedented rapidity. 

However, a recession is not necessarily the wrong time to enroll in an MBA program; there is something to be said for the strategy of waiting out the pandemic by focusing on education and self-development, preparing for a new career level. But as European countries face a new wave of lockdowns, with universities and business schools adapting to the change by delivering courses online, many students have questions. Is networking still possible away from the physical campus? How can MBA professors coach and mentor their students in an online environment? These and many other relevant topics will be raised in an upcoming webinar organized by EFMD Global, “The future of MBAs: Face-lift or total reconstruction?”

UNYP is honored to take part in an online event on the future of MBAs, organized by EFMD Global

EFMD is a global, non-profit, membership-driven organization dedicated to management development. It is recognized globally as an accreditation body for business schools, business school programs, and corporate universities. With the support of 900+ members across 92 countries, it acts as a catalyst to promote and enhance management development globally. Based in Brussels, Belgium, with offices in Geneva, Hong Kong, Miami, and Prague, its network of 30,000 management professionals from academia, business, public service, and consultancies plays a central role in shaping the global approach to management education and provide a unique forum for information, research, networking, and debate on innovation and best practice.

“This webinar could potential be of interest to academics who teach in MBA programs, as well as managers of all kinds of businesses, as they can get a better idea of how MBA graduates could be useful in their companies. Sasa Zikovic (Vice Dean for Science and International Strategic Partnerships, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Rijeka, Croatia) and I will be discussing a lot of hot topics, from the adjustments that need to take place in MBA programs in order to prepare our students to meet the needs of Industry 4.0, to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has caused a major shift towards the online delivery of all kinds of goods and services worldwide. We will also touch upon the pros and cons of learning online,” says Sotiris Karagianis, Graduate Business Programs Director, the University of New York in Prague.

An MBA program from the University of New York in Prague will prepare you for the challenges of today’s business world.

While the changes induced by the Covid-19 pandemic have mostly been short-term, we have noticed an additional effect of accelerating trends that were already in effect. Even in the pre-Covid world, business schools were starting to question the concept of an integrated global economy. Before 2016, it seemed self-evident that as trade barriers fall, economies worldwide will continue to become increasingly interconnected. Then came the Brexit vote and Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, and unexpectedly, borders began to matter again. The pandemic has reinforced the pattern even more, by obstructing global supply chains and forcing countries to close themselves off from each other. 

Today’s world changes fast, and the MBA instructors at the University of New York in Prague are prepared for that. The UNYP MBA offers postgraduate education of a quality that is unrivaled in Central and Eastern Europe and provides the opportunity to learn directly from industry leaders: senior executive managers of companies such as Coca-Cola, British Telecom, Volkswagen, Bell Labs, and 3M. They offer their expertise and years of experience to tackle the problems faced by businesses. A new generation of business issues requires new approaches, and the UNYP MBA program evolves as rapidly as the business world, ensuring that our students are always several steps ahead.