At a time when India is accelerating initiatives to attract foreign faculty, especially those of Indian origin, to teach and conduct research in the country, the Mumbai-based BITS School of Management (BITSoM) said it has been doing so since its inception in 2021. Saravanan Kesavan, the dean & professor of Operations at BITSoM, told FE that about 90% of the courses at the B-school are taught by visiting faculty from leading global institutions.
“This ensures the curriculum is constantly evolving and reflects the most current global business trends,” Kesavan said. “Our curriculum is under constant churn. This year, for example, the churn includes ‘Future of Work’ taught by a professor from Harvard Business School, and a course on ‘Agentic AI’ led by a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor.”
This constant evolution is essential because the world of business and technology moves faster than traditional educational cycles. Kesavan noted: “You cannot teach a student who is using AI in the same way as you teach a student who isn’t using AI.”
The faculty itself goes through continuous upskilling. Resident professors meet regularly to brainstorm how to best integrate AI into classroom teaching. “An average teacher with AI can teach better than an exceptional teacher without AI. But if that exceptional teacher uses AI, nobody can beat her,” Kesavan said. “This also ensures that professors can teach skills for jobs that may not even exist today.”
AI in courses
Kesavan believes that the future of business education is tied to artificial intelligence (AI), and his institution is embedding AI into its core curriculum, unlike most other B-schools.
Since its inception in 2021, AI has been front and centre at BITSoM. Kesavan told FE that AI – and especially generative AI, or Gen AI – is something every student and faculty needs to be exposed to. “When we started, there were discussions on introducing an AI major, but we realised that AI isn’t a vertical, but a horizontal that every student needs to learn,” Kesavan said.
This commitment goes far beyond superficial use. While many institutions may encourage the use of Gen AI tools like ChatGPT for basic tasks, BITSoM focuses on preparing students for the deep impact AI will have on their careers, job progression, and industry. Year over year, the school is increasing AI course offerings, culminating in a mandatory graduation requirement: “Every BITSoM student must build an AI product by the time she graduates.”
An example is a student building an AI agent or assistant for, let’s say, car repair services. “The good news is that building such an AI agent or assistant doesn’t mean you need to be an expert in coding,” he said. “Students can leverage Gen AI itself to build the product; they don’t need core technical skills, but only an analytical bent of mind.”
A global B-school
Despite being a young institution – the first batch graduated in 2023 – BITSoM has demonstrated strength in market outcomes. “Last year, we reported 100% summer placements and 96% final placements, with better companies joining the campus year over year,” he said.
But he added that BITSoM is too young to meet the criteria for India’s NIRF or global management rankings, a factor that students often weigh heavily. “Today, a student who gets admitted to BITSoM and later gets an offer from the IIMs will likely choose the latter, but our goal is to build brand value and a course curriculum so compelling that students choose BITSoM purely on its academic strength, even when they have offers from certain IIMs,” Kesavan said.
More programmes
Today, BITSoM only offers the traditional two-year MBA, but Kesavan said it is exploring shorter courses (maybe a one-year executive MBA) and potential international expansion, including discussions with a top US university for a dual-degree programme at the BITS Pilani Dubai campus. Backed by the financial and administrative support of the BITS Pilani universe, Kesavan is committed to fulfilling the BITS Pilani Chancellor’s vision of ensuring BITSoM becomes a global B-school.