Tapping into e-learning, IIM-A to offer mix of online and offline courses

IIM-A will be offering six programmes that are blended or a mix of online and offline

With rising demand for computer education and training on newer subjects such as design thinking, digital marketing, Bitcoin and Blockchain, the Indian Institute of Management here has seen a significant rise in blended management development programmes (MDPs) this year.
 
To tap the growing online executive education market among companies, IIM-A will be offering six programmes that are a mix of online and offline, Arvind Sahay, its chairperson-MDP, told Business Standard.
 
“This is a substantial increase over last year and we will increase more next year. We are also going to have about five programmes that we are going to be delivering across different countries in Asia,” he added.
 
In 2015-16, IIM-A had conducted a little over 60 open and 120 customised programme. This rose to 72 open executive programmes and 150 customised ones in 2016-17. And, 2017-18 will see 95 open and 160 customised ones, an increase of 31 per cent and six per cent, respectively over the previous year.
 
Sahay says the trigger for this growth is the rising business requirement, across sectors, for training of middle and senior management in these areas.
 
New programmes in areas like design thinking, digital marketing and business models, Bitcoin and Blockchain, and neuroscience in marketing have been attracting interest. Apart from the regular ones on different functional areas, and general management and leadership. 
 
“Customised programme requirements tend to be driven by industry requirements. The financial service industry is looking at behavioural finance and neuroscience inputs for better management. Pharma seeks to upgrade skills to professionalise and upgrade to compete internationally and so on. Conglomerates are looking for more general management and leadership programmes that are customised to their requirements,” he said.
 
In a VUCA (a recent acronym for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity of general conditions and situations) world, the requirements for learning to action and the need to upgrade skills and perspectives are key drivers of increase in attendance of both OEPs (Object Engg Processes) and CEPs (Complex Event Processing),” he said.
 
"These are some drivers of the VUCA world. Regulatory and economic changes are other drivers.  Digitalisation is simply a symptom. What it causes is an increase in information availability and the velocity of impact of action and it changes the competitive landscape more quickly. All of these necessitate continuous learning; hence, more executive education. With increased requirements of multi-skilling of personnel, so that they are able to work across functions, there is also the need for more executive education," Sahay added.