The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. But what do the words of the writer and futurist Alvin Toffler mean for todays business students? Quite simply, those that are not flexible will be left behind.

Todays business students are expected to adopt and master the trends that saturate the professional world. Take technology, and the well-documented rise of big data, students that can master this key skill will have a considerable head start. But there are 65 million people in India alone with at least 5 years of computer-related university education, so business schools in the West have to foster creative thinking to ensure their students stand out in the hypercompetitive global job market.

Though the likes of Wharton, Tuck and Harvard have shaped business education to become one of the truly global products of the 20th century, when it comes to rapid growth in the number of students in the classroom, youd be hard pressed to beat India and China where new MBA and otherbusiness-oriented programs seem to appear almost every week. But when it comes down to innovative and globally minded work in the arena, the players to watch may be not be in the US or Asia, but instead among the players of Western Europe.

We share therefore we are. EMLYON Business School will soon be sharing knowledge and expertise in North Africa under the guidance of the new dean, Bernard Belletante (image Laurent Cerino)

Bernard Belletante, dean of one of the regions leading business schools, EMLYON Business School, says that flexibility is one of the first things their students are taught. The ability to question and act, he says, is a must in business today. With this in mind, I sat down with Bernard to ask him about his partin Europes international business education offensive.

Bernard, EMLYON is already a top ranked school yet youve been quoted as saying that clinging todays rankings is like clinging to a tombstone if you dont have a sustainable business model for the future. What do you think that model should be?

Given the complexity of the modern business environment, shifting economic power and the increasing porousness of international borders, business schools need to constantly innovate to remain relevant. We need to move away from the traditional ways of doing things, to unlock our invaluable stores of knowledge and expertise and find new ways of collaborating and sharing. The idea of I think therefore I am is being replaced by We share therefore we are.

At EMLYON, for example, we believe that one of the key aspects of this sharing and collaborating should be a commitment to training, not just internationally but also locally. Consequently we have announced plans to set up a brand new campus in Casablanca in North Africa, while expanding our existing Shanghai campus. Another major project will focus on management training in India and the Middle East.

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