The higher education landscape has constantly been transforming due to the present market dynamics. The nationwide lockdown wreaked havoc with everything coming to a halt, resulting in reimagining the way education is being delivered across the globe. There is a widespread transition to more specialized learning programs that are gaining popularity in the digital era.
According to the estimates, more than 1.2 billion students are out of the classroom that means they are getting ample opportunities to respond and adapt to the evolving digital era.
This has not only led to a surge in the usage of technology in the educational sector but has become a mandate for working professionals to bolster their skills and reskill to be present in the league.
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Changing trends due to Covid-19
There is no doubt in accepting the fact that the Covid-19 pandemic has tremendously increased the dependency on technology and digital media due to social distancing and travel restrictions.
From bringing individuals together to strengthening business reach, digital media emerged as an integral channel to survive in the market. Furthermore, the sudden acceleration in automation mainly in banking and finance, telecom, and healthcare sectors has increased the adoption of new-age technologies to maintain accuracy in processes.
With endless opportunities in customer risk management, fraud detection, and improved efficiency, these trends are bringing significant changes in the industry.
Since digitization and technology have become the forerunners of the economy, it is imperative to understand how they are reshaping the trends in the higher education landscape.
After the outbreak of the ongoing pandemic, trends such as digital marketing, data sciences, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and MBAs in digital social media management are taking over the other conventional disciplines.
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Growth of Digital Social Media, Data Science, and IoT
In today’s business scenario, leaders lay more emphasis on statistical numbers and predictive analysis to make informed decisions. Thus, it makes data sciences one of the most powerful arenas to provide value to a company to a large extend.
According to a recent report, close to 97,000 positions in the field of new-age technology remained vacant due to lack of talent. The surge in demand for data science professionals captivates the mind of students in taking up programmes that can advance their careers from the present job outlook.
With the exponential growth in data sciences and new age technologies, there is widespread adoption of IoT that is recognised as a significant growth factor in shaping the digital economy.
IoT is leading at many fronts that many students and professionals are identifying programmes for upskilling and take up challenging roles from a career perspective.
Though IoT is not a new term, it is already anticipated that the black swan event of coronavirus spread makes it a pandemic proof solution that every sector is now adopting.
In India, it is anticipated that Digital Social Media, Data Science, and IoT are churning the education landscape. This has resulted in demand for comprehensive and advanced programs such as alternative MBAs that help the learners acquire strong skillset and make a promising career ahead.
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The shift from traditional MBA to alternative MBA
During the present uncertainties and the guidelines of New Education Policy (NEP), students enrolling for MBAs and B-Schools are now skeptical about the institutions’ commitments to provide desired placement assistance.
On the other hand, B-schools have cut their trimester and course duration to manage the completion of the curriculum online. That means there is a reduction in knowledge that could not be beneficial for students in the long-run.
Today, every business sector is remodeling its operations and services as per the changing consumer perceptions and behaviour. To deal with the present market dynamics, companies are preferring to hire candidates based on knowledge and exposure than qualification. They are looking for job-ready students.
This has encouraged alternative MBAs to replace traditional MBA degree programmes as students no longer find it useful to stick to such courses just for the sake of obtaining degrees.
Additionally, the young working professionals seeking to hone their skills to acquire a better or new job role in their organization are also considering alternative MBAs along with their job to update and educate themselves with specialization in digital social media( that includes digital marketing as well ), data science and IoT.
Moreover, the recent formulation of the new education policy by the government also emphasizes the fact that degree programmes are just the duration extension of diploma and certificate programmes.
As per the newly proposed NEP, Under the four-year programme, students can exit after one year with a certificate, after two years with a diploma, and after three years with a bachelor’s degree. Also under NEP, the AICTE and the UGC have been merged and further guidelines are still awaited.
This could make the present MBA/PGP redundant in the coming years and adding more uncertainties to the career of students with such qualifications.
Thus, alternative MBAs have become a lucrative option with tremendous scope in areas like digital media, data science, and IoT. Also, such MBAs are more NEP compliant.
Though it is still on a nascent stage, a few institutions are coming forward with such programs that are focusing on providing industrial exposure to students and still preparing them for digital age employment.
Article by Deepak Goel, CEO, iMET Global – School of digital/social media and IOT
Courtesy: India Today
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