10 Business Schools To Watch In 2021
BY: JEFF SCHMITT ON JANUARY 10, 2021 |
A look at the innovative MBA programs with the most momentum heading into 2021
In business school, they teach you to be proactive. You learn the value of responding quickly and being versatile, resilient, and customer-centric. That starts with case studies, readings designed to help MBAs meld short-term impulse with a long-term strategy. You can think of cases as practices for the real thing. Every case reminds MBAs to weigh various constituencies against the alternatives at hand – and never forget that their decisions will be dogged by conflicting data and uncertain results.
2020 was a living case study for business school administrators, faculty, and students alike. In an industry ripe for disruption, the pandemic exposed every faulty assumption, frothing inequity, and short-sighted shortcut. Spend $200 million dollars on a new building? In hindsight, maybe investing in a more robust online infrastructure would’ve been the wiser path. Pack the schedule with live events and international excursions? That becomes a tough sell when students are terrified of leaving their lofts.
Last year, MBA students lived the disruption that past classes only debated in class. The world went virtual, as schools operated on the fly with no easy answers in sight. School leaders raced to pull resources and cobble together alternatives. They relied on alumni like never before. And some decided to reimagine their program, be it admissions or delivery. Sure enough, many came out stronger than before COVID-19 popped up in China.
Adapt. Invent. Transform. That’s what the programs highlighted in this year’s “10 Business Schools To Watch” did. Now in its sixth year, this feature celebrates innovation in education – and nothing stirs the creative juices like the potential ruin of a lucrative business model.
In turbulent 2020, you found MBA programs scrambling to adjust to an upended world like never before. Some overhauled their admissions policies to enter new markets. Others leveraged emerging technologies to bring students closer to the content – and each other. Many bucked convention, recognizing the riskiest proposition was standing still. Others doubled down on their strengths to further enrich the student experience. Whatever their approach, these schools to watch were defined by action – ones that reflected an unshakable commitment to their mission…and their learning community.
Which business schools broke new ground or set the bar higher for peer programs? Which programs are poised to make a deeper impact in 2021? From INSEAD to Illinois, here are the 10 MBA programs to watch for the coming year.