In today’s digital-driven era, our mere existence relies on technology. Right from the time we wake up in the morning to the time we hit the bed at night, technologies drive our life, be it personal or professional. Whether it is getting shopping recommendations on e-commerce platforms, suggestions on OTT platforms, or even on e-mails, AI plays a major role in our lives. To top it off, the impact of the pandemic has been such that digital has emerged as the pivot for businesses. They have been keen to undergo digital transformations so as to cope with challenges and enjoy a competitive edge in the market.  This is fuelling the demand for talent that is digitally literate and can drive organisational growth. 

The growing prominence of Artificial Intelligence across industries

Amongst the plethora of technologies available, AI is expected to be making the mark across sectors. It is taking a centre stage and is transforming all the industries including finance, healthcare, telecom, manufacturing, education, etc. While AI is enabling end-to-end automation processes, its sub-domains including ML, NLP, Data Analytics, and image analytics also have varied applications. 

Artificial Intelligence is responsible for fulfilling three major objectives- automating business processes, gaining insights through data analysis, and engaging with customers and employees. For instance, in the healthcare sector, AI is transforming the diagnosis of ailments, especially with image analysis. It also plays a vital role in drug discovery and production as well as fast-tracking the trial process with data analytics. AI even adorns the role of medical assistants helping patients with their daily care requirements and enables remote monitoring of health conditions by wearable devices. In fact, the unrecognizable doctor’s notes are also being converted to structured data by NLP. Talking about the Banking and Finance sector, AI helps detect the risk of insurance, prevention of fraud, identify the best investment in place, and even provide the best possible financial advice.  

Considering the diverse application of Artificial Intelligence in the education sector, AI analyses the knowledge gaps that exist and offers personalised learning recommendations to the students thereby increasing their efficiency. By automating the mundane tasks, AI allows the teachers to focus on core responsibilities such as tracking student performance and upscaling educational quality. With Artificial Intelligence, education has become an anytime, anywhere concept and even educational content has become engaging as well as interactive. Playing the role of digital AI tutors and virtual assistants, the technology is enabling real-time communication with many students simultaneously thereby clarifying their doubts in real-time. On the whole, it can be rightly put that Artificial Intelligence is improving the lives of not only the general public but is also changing the landscape of industries along with improving the operations of businesses spread across these industries. 

Management schools catering to the talent-skill gap 

However, the fact of the matter is that there is a dearth of skilled talent. This implies that the talent skill is significant. The potential employees are not skilled digitally, especially in AI which is expected to be the future of the industries as well as the country. 

Furthermore, as we are moving towards Industry 4.0, the first step is to train the future workforce to meet the skill gap. In such a scenario, filling the talent skill gap is necessary. This is why the need for resources possessing expertise in the domain of AI will spike in the times ahead. And the B-schools are attempting to close this gap by offering management development programs and skill-based courses in the field of AI to ensure students are shaped for the tech-based job roles. 

The relevance of AI-based management courses for students 

The technology of Artificial Intelligence helps businesses personalize as well as customize operations and experiences thereby driving customer loyalty and engagement. It is gaining prominence amongst businesses across sectors. Hence, students pursue PGDM courses in the field of Artificial Intelligence that will help transform them into the AI-ready leaders of the future. By undertaking training programs based on AI offered by the B-schools; they are able to gather skillsets that will help them manage the complexities of the real world. They also get to learn about the strategic application of the solution for growth, conversions and revenue generation. 

Artificial Intelligence-based courses: An effective strategy to produce managers and leaders of the future

The International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts that India’s AI market is expected to be valued at $7.8 billion by 2025 and will grow at a CAGR of 20.2 per cent. While the AI software market in the country is projected to grow at a CAGR of 18.1 per cent from 2020, the AI services segment will grow at a CAGR of 35.8 per cent. All these stats are indicative of the fact that since the market is growing, it will also lead to the creation of AI-based jobs for the youth. As per World Economic Forum, AI will create various job roles in the times to come. These include AI and ML learning specialists, Data Scientists, and Information and Security analysts. 

Combining this progressing technology with management education helps learners in gathering industry-relevant skills. The AI-based management courses help students leverage the power of AI and effectively combine it with business administration training as well as soft skills so as to become future-ready. Management studies now offer 21st-century skills, especially AI-based courses that come with practical learning, and entrepreneurial skills as well as extending the right balance of theoretical knowledge as well as practical exposure to the students. This is indeed a futuristic mindset as they will be prepared for job roles that don’t exist for now or are still in the nascent stages. 

AI-based Management studies: The in-demand course

With the surge in digitisation, AI’s adoption is also rising significantly as highlighted by McKinsey in its recent reports. This rate is higher in Indian companies followed by the APAC region and the study further points out AI’s prospects are expected to remain strong even in the future. Hence, it is projected that companies’ investments in Artificial Intelligence will spike over the next three years. This trend would indeed put forth the demand for resources that come with requisite skills and relevant experience so that they can add value to the company. And this is why AI-based management studies would be preferred by the students. 

Given the strong prominence of Management studies, the emergence of AI, and its extensive application in businesses across industries; this year will see a new wave of talent as hundreds of young managers will begin their journeys. It is the practical experience and holistic development that can help talent secure jobs. And this is where Executive Management programs come into play. Various B schools are offering new-age PGDM programs that focus on experiential learning. They are not only modifying their curriculum to be based on the AI foundation but are also ensuring that the teaching practices are relevant, engaging, immersive, and adaptive. Such an approach will empower young students to be future-ready leaders and managers in the truest sense.