Redefining management education in the post-pandemic era
By InkSleuths
The global pandemic Covid-19, ever since its onset has forced shifts in every aspect of education. It especially brought out the vulnerability of the education system. The lockdown period, which shut down both world and life, in fact, gave an opportunity for the authorities to introspect on the failing situation and revamp the entire management education system. It was a period of learning and adapting.
Dr. Vidya Yeravdekar, Pro-chancellor, SIU says how “the pandemic caused dramatic disruption in the management education, right from the way we teach to what we teach really changed”. There arose a need for a new pedagogy that resolves the struggles of both teachers and students. The virtual classroom mode adopted by the institutions was generally found to be slower and more drawn-out than the normal classes.
Digging into significant aspects of the management education system, the students turn out to be the most important stakeholder. The post-pandemic situation revealed a declining number of students taking admission in management institutions; specifically, the data suggests the unwillingness of experienced people to opt for higher education. “International students were the biggest hit”, says Dr. Vidya, confirming the changed perception of students due to the fear of travel or fear of covid.
Meanwhile, teachers were the most affected group due to the consequences of the ongoing health pandemic. Adopting a technology-driven classroom-teaching method in a short time is no cake walk for many. Training programmes had to be included in the schedule for the teachers to adapt to the changing pedagogical aspects. A long year accompanied with the transforming education system has delivered positive results in all levels. “Collaborative Online International Learning, better known as COIL, found its way in Indian Classrooms.” As rightly mentioned by Dr. Vidya, most universities have begun to follow the concept of Internationalisation at home, thus strategizing to win the battle of education against the pandemic.
Although various organizations have had several inhibitions regarding the impact of covid on placements in management schools, the culture of online placements started to take over. Consequently, entrepreneurship gained more importance than ever, with the growing need to find newer and quicker solutions for various problems being encountered. Digitalization has been incorporated in the academic and administration fronts of organizations, leading to a complete transformation within all institutions.
All in all, the positive aspects of the pandemic’s impact outweigh the negative ones. Organizations having struggled to ultimately resort to collaboration and interdependence in order to make things work, rightly justifies the motto of Symbiosis, “Vasudaiva Kutumbakam”, which means, “World is one family.”
Here is the link of the session by Dr. Vidya Yeravdekar on ‘Redefining Management Education in the post-pandemic era’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci1FzVPcyok