It was mentioned in the previous part, Professor Xu Shuying and Dean Chen Fangruo's active advocacy since 2018, the outcome achievements have relatively been insignificant. However, with the gradual development of GPT technology, it will gradually possess the teaching and research abilities that business professors have had in the past. It is precise because GPT has acquired these abilities that will force business school professors to change. This change entails getting closer to practice and embrace it.. Only practice can business school professors continue to possess teaching and research abilities which GPT cannot have. The central principle here will be "rooted in practice, surpassing practice, and used in practice."
The future has arrived, and it is not our renowned experts that deans, or supervisory departments will change the future direction of business school professors. Instead, it is a "technology" which is completely unrelated to the field of business education and research. This new technology will push us to change without any emotional attachments.
Time is running out for business school professors. Incorporating the technology is the only way to handle tomorrow. But how to do it? What steps should they adopt to embrace the technology and practice in their teaching and research ? The "new type of business school professor" should think of management ideas, and values. The professor ought to be a leader of practical activities, and a designer of courses.
As a designer of courses, the business school professor can play a vital role. With the help of artificial intelligence, most courses will no longer require teachers to conduct real-time classroom teaching. However, standardized content cannot ensure that students will fully grasp the materials, lagging behind diversity.
On the one hand, management is a science, and the methods of science can be trained through course learning. On the other hand, management is also an art, and the communication, coordination, and organization of the art cannot fully be mastered through course learning.
The "new type of business school professor" therefore should have the opportunity toin-depth discussions on course content with students. Specific designs should be made for this purpose. Such "new type discussion courses" should have the following characteristics:
1. Centered on core management knowledgein-depth discussions should be conducted on their application.
2. Centered on the diversity of management theories, in-depth discussions should be conducted on the differences between different management theoriesand their unique features. Therefore, the complementary design of "new discussion courses" beyond the AI-based "standard course content" will be the first core task of the future for "new business school professors".
As a leader of practical activities, the "new type of business school professor" should incorporate changes to traditional teaching methods, embedding relevant course content, and combining theory with practical applications. Using gamification, students can apply theory, methods, and techniques within a "virtual scenario."
The shaper of business value
With the advent of artificial intelligence, professors and students of business schools are no longer confined to classrooms, nor are limited to a physical space. Through AI and virtual reality, they can learn, and communicate, in different times and spaces.
At the same time, the "standard curriculum" has getting freed up a lot of teaching time for business school professors. Especially in the current era of unprecedented changes, understanding the relationships between humans and nature has become a new mission for professors and students of business schools.
Therefore, how to design "ethical values in management" at a complementary manner will be the third task of the future "new business school professors".
However, virtual scenarios cannot completely replace "real-life practice." Therefore, how to design "real-life practice scenarios" that complement "virtual practice scenarios" is a critical task for the future "new type of business school professor." These scenarios will provide opportunities for real-life experimentation and verification of existing theories.
The contemplator of management philosophy
With the advent of artificial intelligence, professors in business schools have been liberated from extensive teaching hours enabling them to spend time more for research. However, this puts pressure on them as GPT may surpass the existing expertise of typical business school professors.
The professors in business schools, therefore, should possess unknown knowledge , which is being explored forward-looking. This unknown knowledge requires professors to combine practice and in-depth research to explore the future..
Furthermore, management theory is not simply a collection of basic knowledge, but a form of "wisdom". As a result, business school professors must extract existing knowledgeto develop management "wisdom". Thus, exploring "unknown knowledge" and refining "management wisdom" will be the fourth core mission of the "new type of business school professor" in the future.
The three major functions of teachingand research for business school professors will all undergo significant transformation in their connotations.
The "new type of business school professor" will act as a "discussant of course content, leader of practical activities, shaper of business value.”. The traditional "teaching" technique will be weakened, and diverse "new discussion courses" will need to to complement the "standard course content." The traditional function of "service" will also be typically changed appearing "real-world practice scenarios" , The service is coupled with the theory, methods, and techniques of the "standard course content" to form the verification of theory leading to positive feedback.
The traditional function of "research" will greatly be strengthened, as GPT has integrated a huge existing knowledge. Researching unknownand future-oriented knowledge will be the core competitiveness of business school professors. The collision and discussion between "unknown" knowledge and known knowledge will be a core task for business school professors in the future. In particular, experiencing the "multiple crises", long-term development will become a core proposition for the future and business school professors should actively strengthen and enhance them.
The assessment of the "new type of business school professor" will correspondingly undergo significant changes. The assessment may include socialized "discussion classrooms," field-based "practical activities," cutting-edge "exploratory research," and reflective "value discussions."
In this process, theoretical learning based on GPT is an important component. Designing "discussion classes," "practical activities," "exploration research," and "value discussion" based on GPT will be a new proposition for the "new type of business school professor." Of course, how to couple, how to evolve and iterate which may need to be gradually explored and gradually tested. Coping new situation we need to watch and work hard.