For generations to come, the year 2020 will be remembered a watershed year in the evolution of management education in India, albeit forced by a force majeure in the form of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic. Owing to the government-mandated lockdown, the conduct of courses in educational institutes had been briefly disrupted, with the majority, if not all, switching to online modes of content delivery within a short span of time. Notwithstanding the ominous resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic once again in the current year 2021, an optimistic return to content delivery in the offline classroom mode in the Management Education Post Covid is expected to become feasible in the upcoming months as news of the success of the vaccine trials indicates.
In the meantime, the status quo of virtual classes continues and this interim period of transition to the virtual mode has been especially challenging on educational institutions, more used to a course curriculum that includes pedagogies like case study methodology, hands-on workshops, and peer learning through classroom discussions as part of their content delivery. The transition from the physical classroom mode to the virtual mode was not easy and it needed setup of the necessary physical infrastructure, integration of Learning Management Systems (LMS), and faculty training through workshops to familiarize themselves with teaching in the virtual mode. The initial shocks of this disruptive transition needed on-the-go learning by all the stakeholders, who are now gradually but surely adapting to the virtual mode of course delivery.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, several colleges and universities worldwide moved their teaching online. In India too, many colleges and universities switched on the online mode of teaching. And, we at Asian Business School (ABS), Noida were among the first to build on these learnings to institute paradigm changes to the program architecture of our various courses in sync with the anticipated changes in the Management Education Post Covid era. Notwithstanding the Covid-19 crisis, classes at the institute have not been impacted at all. The day-to-day online sessions have helped continue the learning process, using softwares like Zoom, Google Suite and institution’s ERP which comprises of a well built Learning Management System. ABS faculty members are readily available 24/7 through call, mail and zoom meetings, maintaining social distance, yet guiding students ahead in their curriculum.
Although we at Asian Business School (ABS), Noida fully realize that it will not be easy, but we are determined to meet up to the challenges of Management Education Post Covid and make the online teaching – learning methods truly attractive, appealing and rewarding for both the students and the faculty.