Simulation tools are increasingly becoming popular with B-schools, allowing students to raise their analytical skills to a higher level.
The tool-- simulation games-- was introduced at the B-school around 10 months ago and eversince, the attention span of his students has gone up from 20 to 80 per cent.
Classroom management is about building a relationship between students and the teacher and planning lessons that would benefit both.
When Professor Satish Duryodhan introduced a new teaching tool – simulation games – at the Europe Asia Business School (EABS) 10 months ago, he intended to achieve just that. The result is there for all to see: The attention span of his students has gone up from 20 per cent to 80 per cent.
“Simulations provide you a very immersive experience. There are challenges involved which help you make a superior decision. It makes people think how to apply things in real life. It is both, part of our full time programmes and for Executive MBA programmes.” EABS, in fact, has been approached by other B-schools to help them integrate simulations as part of their curriculum.
Simulation is an imitation of some real thing or state of affairs and involves representation of key characteristics of a selected system or topic. While international B-schools have been using simulations for a while, the trend has begun catching up with Indian B-schools recently.
According to Harvard Business Publishing (HBP), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Harvard University, the number of Indian B-schools using simulations has doubled over the last one year to 25. While 12 B-schools were using simulations last year, only four had introduced the tool in 2009.
HBP, which creates and sells simulations to B-schools worldwide, says earlier constraints such as internet bandwidth, access to simulations and availability of local support, resulted in limited reach.
“At present, over 25 Indian B-schools are using our simulations on topics ranging from leadership, supply chain management, strategy, marketing and finance, among others. Several other schools are evaluating internally before introducing simulations in their courses starting next month. I believe, in the next year or so, almost every quality business school in India will be able to include simulations in its courses. Simulations are fun, bring tremendous energy to the class, and results in experimentation, sharing and integrated learning.,” said Vinay Hebbar, managing director, HBP India.
Professor Arun Pereira, of Hyderabad-based Indian School of Business (ISB), echoed Hebbar’s views. “Simulations allow you to see the cause and effect of a decision in real time. It mimicks real life with time compression. So more and more B-schools are using it.”
ISB, for the first time, will be developing two simulations in house: Simulation on information space and supply chain. The institute plans to sell the products to other B-schools. “We not only use simulation as a teaching tool but also for research and development of faculty members. Vendors are also a part of it who take care of the technical part of the games,” says Pereira.
“We have exposed close to about two of our batches to learning through simulations. Participants say it is a unique learning experience and they are able to relate to their current environment,” adds Duryodhan.
Hebbar says simulations allow active engagement of participants. Students play a role with the goal of winning and this takes their reading and analyzing to a higher level. The experience is fun, brings tremendous energy to the class and results in experimentation, sharing and integrated learning. Simulations can be used in a single class, over a number of class periods or for an entire semester.
Many companies, including Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys Technologies, Larsen and Toubro, Pepsi Co, Asian Paints, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Dell and Alcatel-Lucent among others, use simulations as part of their business training programmes.
Other B-schools which use simulations include Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and Bangalore, Xavier Labour Relations Institute, SP Jain Institute of Management and Research and Indian Institute of Foreign Trade.
