The scenario where AI impacts employment and the nature of work has moved from likelihood to certainty. Beginning with software engineering, the disruption is being felt in consulting, investment banking, equity analysis, budgeting and planning, and other ‘knowledge driven’ workstreams that have been the mainstay of b-school recruitment.
How then, does a business school prepare its graduates?
The first step is to prepare them to take advantage of new opportunities. With the falling cost per line of code, ‘IT transformation projects’ now take on the urgency of integrating AI into business processes. At the same time, many projects that were shelved earlier for being too costly or too complex or too risky are suddenly viable. And if Claude can rewrite COBOL, there is no reason not to add new features and capabilities while modernising legacy codebases. Being able to manage information from data source to business decision has always been a competitive advantage. That advantage will now be sharper, and even more fiercely fought over. This will dramatically increase the surface area for business teams to engage with tech which in turn will heighten demand for professionals who understand both the business and the technology, i.e. AI native MBAs.
BITSoM addresses this opportunity by integrating technology, with a special focus on AI, into all aspects of the MBA programme. All students are required to build a basic AI product before they graduate. Core MBA courses cover the aspect of technology in operations, finance, marketing and strategy. Having a strong global visiting faculty pool to draw from is a natural advantage for the school in bringing in teachers at the frontiers of these trends.
But what beyond this would really set a young professional apart as intelligence gets commoditised? BITSoM aims to answer this question with an approach that deeply engages with technology while being equally focused on building human skills and capabilities beyond the reach of the LLM engineering paradigm. The school is betting on the belief that ‘Leadership’ and ‘Agency’ will make the difference.
‘Leadership’ in this context refers not only to formal authority but to the ability to influence direction, exercise judgement, and bring people together to solve complex problems. ‘Agency’ complements this by emphasising initiative and ownership — the willingness to act, take responsibility, and translate ideas into execution rather than waiting for direction. As analytical capability becomes widely accessible through AI tools, individuals who combine judgement with the ability to act decisively will increasingly stand out.
The BITSoM MBA programme has been designed around this belief from inception, but its relevance has grown stronger with each new wave of ‘agentic AI’ driven disruption. The ‘formula’ that drives this begins early in the programme and is built on three pillars.
In the first term, incoming students take psychometric assessments that, along with a reflection exercise, serve as the raw inputs for a Personal Development Plan (PDP). Students then work on their PDP with faculty to identify two priority development areas at a time – one functional and one behavioural. Students revisit the PDP through the programme to make more deliberate choices about coursework, projects, and co-curricular activities, encouraging greater ownership of their learning and career direction. This process is designed to help students develop a growth mindset with greater autonomy in shaping their own development rather than treating the MBA as a preset path.
Second, and complementing the PDP is the structured Mentorship Programme, where students are connected with industry practitioners who bring decades of experience to help guide them in academic and career choices. Beyond the immediate benefits, the programme helps students develop the art of seeking out and engaging mentors, and later in life, knowing how to mentor others as they themselves grow in their careers. The programme draws heavily on the BITS Pilani alumni and is an important way for BITSoM to build connections with the alumni community.
Third, and alongside this individual development focus, the programme includes a parallel mandatory track—Winning at Workplace (WAW)—that offers an eclectic mix of courses such as personal growth and transformation, performance management, design thinking, storytelling and communication, critical analytical thinking, and well-being and success. Some modules use experiential methods, including theatre-based exercises, to build communication and executive presence. The curriculum is delivered by a mix of faculty and industry practitioners. These learning components are integrated with live corporate projects, resume workshops, and interview preparation.
BITSoM's framework treats leadership capability as a deliberate outcome, designed and measured from day one.
Graduates who enter the workforce with both domain expertise and a developed leadership identity are better positioned not just for their first role, but for the full arc of a career in management.
For students who see themselves in this vision of leadership, BITSoM's MBA applications are open until 15th March.
Disclaimer: Content Produced by BITS Pilani
