In a co-authored article published in the EFMD Business Magazine, Singapore Management University (SMU) President Professor Arnoud De Meyer and SMU Office of Strategic Planning & Quality Assurance Sriven Naidu, together with six other university leaders from University of St Gallen (Switzerland), Copenhagen Business School (Denmark), Universite Paris Dauphine (France) and FGV-EBAPE (Brazilian School of Publicand Business Administration), trace the emergence, role and future contributions of ‘universities for business and management’. 

The authors noted that management education is transforming its delivery and learning techniques to embrace new possibilities offered by technology and digitalisation. Corporate leaders want management graduates with the ability to look beyond the obvious, to question assumptions, to be more creative and to understand how business is a part of society and not apart from society.  Sophisticated students around the world are also demanding that management syllabi be rethought to equip them to make a better world – and not just deliver better short-term returns to shareholders at the expense of other legitimate stakeholders.

While many undergraduate business programmes remain too narrow and focused on management techniques and theories, there are some institutions which continually experiment with preparing students for innovation, entrepreneurial thinking or navigating a business environment set in a global world that is culturally diverse, yet highly connected. These instiutions are committed to preparing graduate and undergraduate students to discharge their duties to society responsibly.

They also noted that management universities have the collective potential to innovate and tangibly amplify the profile and impact of management education and scholarship for society by: 1. Pursuing synergies across interdisciplinary education, research and practice-relevant scholarship by artfully enlisting technology; 2. Enhancing engagement with stakeholders and contributing to local and regional social and economic life; and 3. Enhancing the global mind-set and profile for students, faculty and the institution.  There are serious implications to how the next generation of business leaders are cultivated.

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