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JulAug2015

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JULY | AUGUST 2015 BizEd 55 Business schools need to embrace hybridization by working at the inter- section of innovation, entrepreneurship, and science. This is the place where the majority of tomorrow's professions will be found—and where recruiters will seek their managers in years to come. WHERE WE ARE NOW Many business school deans will say they already o•er cross-disciplinary programs; they'll note that it's common for business students to take courses in subjects far removed from core man- agement classes. A few can even point to partnerships with specialized higher education providers. However, as I see it, true hybridiza- tion demands a much deeper commit- ment. I would even say that business schools need to go just as far as the aforementioned biologists creating cross-breeds in their labs. They need to make nonmanagement subjects an inte- gral part of their own DNA. They must undergo hybridization themselves. This is not to say that business schools should compromise on their strong points and dilute their own well- formed identities. Rather, they must put their weight behind an evolutionary leap that will allow them to innovate for a corporate world that finds itself in con- stant flux. They must commit to turning out multicultural graduates with deep expertise across multiple sectors—and they must consider these hybrids to be the norm, not the exception. Over the last few years in France, there has been a wave of mergers in which two or more smaller business schools fused together to create a "super" school. Before merging, these schools had the same outlook, the same sort of faculty teaching the same subjects, the same research goals, and the same types of students on campus. After merg- ing, these schools still have the same outlook, faculty, subjects, research goals, and students. True, some of them have gained global visibility or advanced in the rankings, but they haven't added any real value for students, recruiters, sta•, or themselves. I believe that business schools need to create alliances, not with other business schools, but with their counterparts in areas as diverse as law, electronics, and the fine arts. In place of student exchang- es that barely give future managers a taste of another branch of higher educa- tion, we need to construct true double degrees that do justice to both subjects. Only then will we be able to send viable hybrids into the job market. Naturally, this approach is more complex and takes more time. To make it work, a business school must find room on its board of governors for representatives from di•erent types of institutions. It must work as closely as possible with personnel in these other schools, particularly in their business incubators, corporate relations depart- ments, and student a•airs oŠces. It must allow students from those other schools open access to its facilities. And it must bring together diverse faculty to conduct research and teach classes. AN EXAMPLE OF HYBRIDIZATION At Audencia Nantes School of Manage- ment, we have formed a triple alliance with an engineering school, the Ecole Centrale de Nantes, and an architectural school, ensa Nantes. We have debuted a management-engineering double degree and soon will launch a management-ar- chitecture double degree. The manage- ment-engineering degree already has enrolled more than 100 students who will spend two years in an engineering program before studying management at Audencia for 18 months. The partner schools also maintain deep connections beyond dual degree programs. I sit on the board of directors of the two other schools; their deans sit on Audencia's board. We run joint exec- utive education programs. We also work closely with engineering schools in coun- tries such as China, Italy, and Romania. In addition, we have identified three research areas where our trio of schools can work together: big data, marine industries, and the city of the future. The technical know-how of engineers, the creativity of archi- tects, and the organizational skills of managers are all key in these areas. Through hybridization, our research will move to a new level, and we will share our discoveries in both class- rooms and corporate headquarters. Having lived through this process of hybridization, I can confirm that it is not always simple. Much discussion, preparation, and soul-searching must take place if there is to be a successful alliance among schools with di•erent cultures and structures. However, these very di•erences produce the richness that makes the alliances so valuable. Audencia and our partner schools have placed complementarity at the heart of our ambitions. Our alliance inevitably leads to innovation, because to work together, we all must operate in a new manner. For instance, in our joint work on the city of the future, we have created an institute that unites experts in the design, management, and technical as- pects of smart cities. Our goal is to make this institute an international source on intelligent urban development. What better way to serve a business world in need of innovation than to operate with an innovative mindset within the business school? Hybridiza- tion equals innovation. If 60 percent of future professions are as yet un- known, a vast amount of what tomor- row's professionals need to learn is also unknown. Business schools have to recognize this fact. They must look beyond their boundaries to become as adaptable and multiskilled as their future students will have to be. Frank Vidal is dean of Audencia Nantes School of Management in France.

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