To respond to the ever-changing business landscape, Indian School of Business (ISB) has unveiled a comprehensive curriculum review for its flagship Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP). New curriculum places a strong emphasis on customization and experiential learning opportunities. ISB has set up Centre for Learning and Teaching Excellence to facilitate implementation of this new curriculum approach.
Focus on Flexibility, Learnability and Constant Renewal
ISB curriculum review has a three-pronged focus:
- More customised and flexible programme structure: With the new curriculum, ISB’s PGP program shall move towards a more customised and flexible programme structure. This being done in response to diverse needs of the students, who come from backgrounds varying from engineering to the armed forces to art or sports.
- Focus on ‘Learnability’: Learnability is the second pillar of curriculum revamp. ISB will now use more ‘activity-based methods’ that build the ability to constantly learn.
- Constant Curriculum Review: The third key point of PGP curriculum review at ISB is that the new approach has ‘built-in system of renewal in the curriculum’ so as to respond to future needs proactively.
ISB sets up Centre for Learning and Teaching Excellence
The newly established Centre for Learning and Teaching Excellence at ISB will play an important role in the implementation of the new curriculum approach, which places a strong emphasis on customization and experiential learning opportunities. “Amidst these advancements, the Centre for Learning and Teaching Excellence will play a pivotal role in driving continuous improvement in content and curriculum design,” said ISB. Technologists and cognitive psychologists will be part of this faculty-driven centre.
More customised and flexible programme structure
According to ISB, the need for increasing flexibility was felt due to the diverse cohort it attracts. The incoming cohort, for instance, has a national-level badminton player, a civil servant, and students with a background in the armed forces.
While in previous PGP batches at ISB, while 50% of the core course were fixed, students could choose the rest 50% electives on their own. New curriculum structure has more flexibility. PGP students can now build up to 60% of the programme from a larger list of Electives courses. To facilitate this, the core courses have been reduced to 14 courses.
To make space for innovations, the school has also realigned the structure. While earlier there were standard six-week terms, now there are four ‘block weeks’ built in -- making space for a variety of shorter-term courses in between the usual terms.
Greater emphasis on Analytics Curriculum, Experiential Learning
To align with the demands of today's data-driven business landscape, ISB has laid emphasis on enhancing its Analytics curriculum in the revamped curriculum. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) courses will be offered as electives.
Additionally, ISB's Office of Experiential Learning will offer immersive experiences that bridge theory with practice through activities such as field immersions and industry-sponsored projects.
“The overarching impetus for the changes was the evolving nature of jobs, and the reduced shelf life of knowledge,” said Dean Madan Pillutla, “In such a period of constant change, what one knows for sure is that people who have a variety of skills will succeed. But if you make the curriculum too rigid and give them what you think is ideal fit for this environment, it is simply not going to be enough for them down the line. So, that was the impetus for us to begin to examine it very carefully.”
ISB Students may not specialize but build a variety of skill-set
ISB says that from next year, the school will provide academic advisory services to the students, which will help them choose a more cross-functional or multi-disciplinary set of electives courses. This would mean that a student has the choice of not majoring or specialising in any one area from next year, and instead build a variety of skillsets to remain job-ready for now and be adaptable for the future.
Constantly evolving curriculum
An interesting feature of new ISB curriculum is that it is designed to evolve with time. Dean Pillutla said: “The specifics of the review were determined by the faculty’s research on the future of work, and on related aspects such as technological shifts. We also spoke extensively to the alumni, the recruiters, industry at large, to inform this exercise. The result is an ever-evolving curriculum, which ensures a real-time response to newer trends and requirements."
The Indian School of Business (ISB) is one of India’s highest-ranked business school and ranks in the top league of business schools in several rankings globally.
