siliconindia | | April 20199kind of impact, it is evident that auto-mation will have a very real influence on the future nature of work. Technology has also changed the makeup of the workforce itself. His-torically, Indian workers would have to leave home to pursue opportunities abroad or in the major urban areas, they would have to spend most of their day in commute. Similarly, com-panies could only source employees from a limited distance, and had to fulfill their hiring needs through local candidates. Today, there is a grow-ing virtual workforce comprised of employees available for work online, as well as opportunities that allow for a portion (or even all) of a job to be fulfilled remotely. As discovered in a 2016 survey hosted by Randstad, if given the option, 53 percent of Indian professionals would prefer to tel-ecommute. At the same time, there is also a small digital workforce behind the scenes that consists of robots and various algorithms, which have ef-fectively replaced persons from such roles in the traditional workforce. With businesses embracing these technologies, along with the efficien-cies they confer, business schools must make strides in their efforts to be leaders amongst educators. As work itself changes, it is our role as educators and the longest standing accreditation body, to ensure what is being taught in the classroom will enable learners for success. As iden-tified in AACSB's 2016 report, A Collective Vision For Business Edu-cation, it is critical for higher educa-tion to be forward thinking. Outlined within, AACSB emphasized several opportunities where business schools must advance to remain relevant in the future. One of such opportunities was for business schools to transform into hubs of lifelong learning. As a hub of lifelong learning, an institution should be well-positioned to serve the needs of a growing workforce. As referenced earlier, this work-force could be individuals displaced by automation, or simply those that need to refresh their skills to remain current in today's technologies or business acumen.In an effort to better understand how technology might impact busi-ness education and higher educa-tion in general, AACSB's Innova-tion Committee identified several technologies which hold the poten-tial to disrupt or enhance the educa-tion industry. Consisting of business school leaders and business practice executives from around the world, the Committee did a deep landscape scan and identified several technolo-gies that have the potential to disrupt or enhance our industry. Stemming from their expertise, AACSB created technologies with potential to trans-form business and business educa-tion series, which includes briefing papers on artificial intelligence, vir-tual and augmented reality, mobile and micro-learning. A fourth is also currently under development related to blockchain. Across these briefs, we have seen that faculty are leveraging new technologies in creative ways. Vir-tual reality is being used to simu-late boardroom discussions, and artificial intelligence is being used to implement adaptive learning soft-ware - each of which can customize the learning experience for students. Concurrent, micro-learning will en-able students to take full courses entirely from their mobile devices, allowing them to engage in their studies anytime, anywhere. All these enhancements are designed to not only appeal to the digital generation, but to prepare them for a workforce which also is making significant use of such tools. Here, the up-and-coming technological generation is pushing higher education and society to advance in ways that are tradition-ally not known, but are ways where higher education can excel.Across this, business education is well positioned to serve as a grow-ing market. As those in the digital generation arrive in our classrooms, and exit into the workforce, it is in-evitable that the adaptations already underway will continue. Behind the `digital generation', there is another group of early learners who are expe-riencing technology at even younger ages, and who will continue to shift our understanding of what a learn-ing experience should be. In paral-lel, business schools must be well poised to serve the generations of current workers who, to compete, need a bit of reskilling or upskilling of their talents to be fully effective in the marketplace. Business schools must be well poised to serve the generations of current workers who, to compete, need a bit of reskilling or upskilling of their talents to be fully effective in the marketplace
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