The curricula will include lessons from a Himalayan mountain challenge, importance of understanding media and gender, and how to develop the latest promotion strategy. Artificial intelligence, Chat GPT, and X Culture Business projects are being incorporated in the courses of the Indian Institutes of Management to ensure that students are ready to work on global projects and understand the challenges of working across time zones and cultures.

IIM-Kozhikode’s new course includes financial crises, life skills,workplace well-being through Karma Yoga, and X Culture Business projects, among others.

Director Debashis Chatterjee said, in an email interview, that the course is aimed at elucidating concepts of banking, currency and to prepare students for opportunities in dynamic areas of financial markets, financial institutions, regulatory institutions, multilateral institutions, governments and central banks. “…the above courses delve in detail on role of institutions in generating economic growth, with emphasis on the nature of institutions and processes by which they evolve,” he added.

For instance, X Culture Business course will enable participants to work as part of virtual teams, with members from across countries and continents, representing diverse cultures, and solving ‘live’ business challenges, to gain first-hand experience in business collaboration.

These elective courses at top B-schools will be offered to second year students and they will get credit points for every course. Relevant and popular courses are in huge demand, with a limited number of students allowed for each course, making the elective subjects a competition of sorts.

IIM-Indore will introduce 17 electives this year, which include media and gender, cryptocurrencies, central banks and inflation targeting, labour economics, cyber security, entrepreneurial marketing, services-led digital transformation, and mathematical modelling for logistics management. “These courses are developed along with faculty from various industries on the basis of latest requirements of industry. Students are allowed to build a basket of their choice of courses. We have had companies like BCG and Deloitte teach students here from elective courses,” said Shrihari Sohni, chair of post graduate programme, IIM-Indore.

IIM Lucknow’s new electives include digital transformation, disruptive technologies and AI; intellectual property management, performance management, responsible AI, managing change and negotiation, and leveraging gamification in business of people. Subjects like AI and sustainability are getting introduced as businesses are trying to grapple with latest environmental, social and governance norms or working with the latest digital technology. “ESG and AI will get discussed more and their impact on Industry 4.0, with subjects like Chat GPT and how it can change evaluation methods spoken in class,” said Prashant Mishra, dean, School of Business Management, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies.