The MBA is a quality degree and finishes with a certificate that is proof of that learning experience – but business education doesn’t stop there…

Professor Himanshu Rai, Director of the Indian Institute of Management, Indore (IIM Indore), says that technological disruption is a constant and it runs throughout entire careers. Artificial intelligence is the clearest case in point, he says, it is a moving target that encourages reskilling continuously for as long as someone remains in a knowledge-intensive role.  

That brings us to modular, lifelong learning, built for repeat use. Lifelong learning provides small, frequent inputs of knowledge, timed to when they are actually needed. It is contextual, responding to the problem that is right in front of a leader, and allows professionals to return to again as their role or organisation shifts around them. 

This is not a hypothetical design; IIM Indore’s own executive portfolio now runs more than 200 programmes across 24 countries. Its Executive Programme in Business Management is deliberately multi-modular, moving cohorts through case discussions, live sessions and business simulations in blocks, with campus immersions bookending an otherwise flexible, part-time structure so senior professionals can keep learning without stepping out of their jobs.  

IIM Indore is not alone in this.

Aalto University Executive Education and Professional Development (Aalto EE) appointed a Head of Lifewide Learning to knit together its degree programmes, executive education, and professional development. They describe their mission as providing “a sustainable platform for lifewide learning at different stages of a career,” a long-term partner for organisations.   

So whilst there remains a place for the two-year MBA, especially early in a career, where the density of peer learning and the space to think without daily operational pressure are genuinely hard to replicate. But it is not the only model for how business schools define their relationship with practising leaders. 

Institutions can become long-term partners in their alumni’s development, who prioritise the impact of their education not just at graduation, but by how useful it can be to these people years afterwards, and in different ways. 

For additional insights, announcements, and perspectives, visit the conversation on Business Education.