Business education is not business as usual anymore. The external factors impacting it have multiplied significantly in the past two years and will lead to its complete transformation.

Jan. 12, 2022 - To support you navigate this fast-changing landscape and ease your journey in 2022 and beyond, we published a trend report with the key trends that will impact business education.  

We predict ten trends, split into three categories, influencing business education in all institutions and organizations. Societal trends that will challenge the purpose of business education, industry trends that will change the way it is taught and tech trends that will open new avenues and make the transformation of business education possible. Below you can read a short summary with three of the ten trends and download our 38-page Business education trend report 2022 in full. 

1. Diversity & inclusion  

Improving diversity and inclusion efforts will continue to impact organizations. As we, as a society, become more (and rightfully so) preoccupied with tackling inequality and exclusion, creating an environment where all learners are welcome is mandatory. 

Ensure that the learners in your institution or organization come from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, are of different ages, have varied (dis)abilities and are at different career levels, and enjoy equal chances. 

A focus on diversity & inclusion will help tackle pressing societal matters and make learning a much richer experience. Diverse and inclusive cohorts will create a rich melting pot of insights and perspectives, supporting creativity and innovation. 

2. New content & formats

Business education programs will suffer extensive changes and variations in terms of content and format. It is not only the intricacies of doing business successfully that must be learned but digital abilities, technological awareness and soft skills. Additionally, knowledge about wider societal issues such as climate emergency, diversity & inclusion, inequality etc., is crucial. 

Curricula need to be adapted to educate agile business talents, to fit the lifelong learning requirements of working adults or the virtualized personalized, experience demands of digital natives.  

The one-size-fits-all education model will become obsolete and open the way to short courses, non-degree programs, certifications or microlearning.  

3. Artificial intelligence

In 2022 and in the years to come, all eyes will be on AI. It is not a surprise considering its benefits to the business education sector. 

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the ability of a machine to display human-like capabilities such as reasoning, learning, planning and creativity. It is already being used in business education, and examples include software for translation, plagiarism checks, text correction tools, voice-recording transcripts, etc. But its potential for further developments is vast.  

AI can enable hassle-free administration by automating tedious tasks and simplifying complex processes. It can ensure stellar customer service, via chatbots, at all stages in a learner´s journey, from the moment they enter your website to the moment they finish a program and beyond. 

These are just three of the ten trends the will impact business education across all organizations and institutions in 2022 and in the years to come. Would you like to find out what lies ahead in the future of business education? Then read all the trends to stay ahead of the curve in our brand new 38-page report.