The traditional MBA is facing a difficult question: does a degree built around lectures, case studies and established management frameworks still prepare students for a business world changing at an unprecedented pace?
For Indian business schools, the challenge is becoming harder to ignore. Employers are adapting to artificial intelligence, job roles are evolving, and students increasingly want to understand the career value of an expensive management qualification. A survey conducted by BITS School of Management (BITSoM) and the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) has highlighted these concerns among business school deans and academic leaders.
Released through the EFMD x BITSoM Global Perspectives Survey Report, the findings suggest that the issue is not simply whether the MBA will survive, but whether its traditional structure can keep pace with the skills businesses now require.
Why Business Schools Are Questioning the Traditional MBA
The survey found that 59.1% of respondents identified changing employer expectations and graduate roles as a major concern. Meanwhile, 54.5% pointed to changing demand for traditional degrees and MBA programmes, while half highlighted evolving faculty roles and workforce expectations.
These concerns reflect a broader shift in the relationship between education and employment. Management graduates are expected to understand business fundamentals, but they must also work with data, adapt to emerging technologies, communicate effectively and make decisions in uncertain situations.
A conventional curriculum built primarily around established theories and classroom discussions may not be sufficient on its own. Business schools increasingly need to connect academic learning with real business problems, interdisciplinary thinking and practical decision-making.
The findings do not establish that the MBA itself is becoming obsolete. Rather, they indicate that institutional leaders are questioning whether existing programmes deliver the capabilities students and employers will need in the coming years.
AI Could Transform How MBA Students Learn
Artificial intelligence emerged as one of the strongest signals in the survey. Around 73% of respondents expect AI to bring substantial or fundamental changes to management education. Yet the pace of institutional response remains uneven, with some schools still observing developments or experimenting with the technology rather than implementing major changes.
AI can already assist with research, data analysis, presentations, market assessments and the initial preparation of business cases. This creates opportunities for students to work more efficiently, but it also raises questions about what they genuinely understand and how their capabilities should be evaluated.
If students can use AI to generate an analysis or recommendation, the role of a business school cannot stop at teaching them how to produce one. Students must learn to test assumptions, identify unreliable information, interpret evidence and defend their decisions.
The survey identified several challenges in responding to AI. Governance, privacy, and responsible use were cited by 41% of respondents, while 36% highlighted curriculum and assessment redesign. Another 32% identified the need to strengthen faculty capabilities and adoption.
What Should the Future MBA Teach?
The discussion is moving beyond the idea of adding a standalone AI elective to an existing programme. Instead, business schools are being encouraged to integrate AI across disciplines, including finance, marketing, operations, strategy and human resources.
This could involve more project-based learning, live industry assignments, practical data analysis and assessments that require students to explain their reasoning rather than simply submit a polished answer.
Human capabilities will remain important in this model. Strategic judgement, ethical decision-making, communication, empathy and leadership are difficult to reduce to technical knowledge alone. As automated tools become more accessible, students will need to understand not only how to use them, but also when their outputs should be questioned.
Faculty roles will also need to evolve. Teachers may increasingly act as guides who help students interpret complex problems, evaluate evidence and connect theory with practice, while continuing to provide the academic rigour that makes management education valuable.
Is an MBA Still Worth the Investment?
For prospective students, the debate also raises questions about fees, placements and return on investment. Business schools have often been judged through salary outcomes, rankings and placement statistics, but these measures do not capture every benefit of a management education.
Professional networks, confidence, leadership experience and long-term career adaptability can also influence the value graduates derive from their degrees. At the same time, institutions need to be transparent about costs, employment outcomes and the skills their programmes actually develop.
The survey also found that 91% of respondents favoured international partnerships covering multiple areas, including research, faculty collaboration, student engagement and industry-linked initiatives, rather than arrangements focused mainly on student mobility.
Such partnerships could help business schools share expertise, strengthen research and expose students to different business environments.
The MBA Is Changing, Not Disappearing
The survey offers a snapshot of the concerns expressed by 22 Indian business school leaders, rather than a definitive verdict on the future of every MBA programme. Nevertheless, its findings point to a clear challenge: management education must remain relevant as technology and employer expectations change.
The traditional MBA may continue to provide a foundation in business principles, but its value will increasingly depend on how well institutions combine that foundation with technological fluency, practical experience and sound judgement.
The question for business schools is no longer simply whether students need an MBA. It is whether the MBA they offer prepares them for the business world they will actually enter.
