Students should imbibe adaptable skills to face challenges of changing dynamics

Prof Larry Kramer, director, LSE

Prof Larry Kramer, director, LSE, during his recent India visit, lauded the thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem in India focused on social impact and pointed to the need to steer the curriculum at LSE to prepare the students to adapt and respond to new information and technical changes
Changing geopolitical dynamics, wars and other conflicts have now opened the demand for a new work culture. How would you describe it?
At the London School of Economics (LSE), we are focusing on helping students develop adaptable skills for the changing world of work. Many of the technical skills workers have needed in the workplace will become less important, particularly as Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been integrated into everyday life. This will mean greater importance and focus on critical thinking, problem-solving, learning to learn, communication, collaboration, and interpersonal skills: things that AI cannot replace. This recognition is steering our thinking about the curriculum at LSE. One of the most important things in education is preparing students to adapt and respond to new information and new developments.
The UK, USA and other European countries are facing acute unemployment. How can depleting global employability be pulled up?
As part of my recent visit, I met the Indian Finance Minister who outlined the country’s ambitious goals of 8% and 50% participation in higher education. These are interrelated, as an educated population–whether through universities, vocational schools, or technical colleges–the economic growth will look up. Besides, we need to give the working population a broad base of skills that AI cannot cover. For example, knowing how to collaborate and communicate, learn and adapt to new situations creatively. Cultivating curiosity will likewise be important. Starting with this base, people will also need to reskill and upskill throughout their lives, as technology and the workplace rapidly changes. Lifelong learning– and the ability to learn–is thus important. It is important to embrace technology, rather than resist or minimise its impact.
Indian students have held LSE in high esteem, and it has had a historical connection with India. What kind of students LSE would like to welcome?
LSE’s ties with India go back to 1919 when a partnership was developed to establish the Ratan Tata Department of Social Sciences (now the Department of Social Policy). Former LSE director Ralf Dahrendorf described the relationship between India and LSE as “a story of soul mates”. We have students from all over the world, from many different backgrounds. There is no one type of LSE student, but our students do have some things in common: they are high-achieving, ambitious, and connected to the real world in wanting to make a difference.
Indian students make up the third-largest national population at LSE, and we are eager to recruit more. Indian students are well-educated, ambitious, and open-minded. Part of the reason I visited India was to enhance the visibility of LSE to Indian students and to encourage more to consider applying. If you come to LSE, you get a first-rate education alongside opportunities to meet and work with high-calibre students from around the globe in one of the world’s greatest cities. It is an unrivalled opportunity to learn and grow intellectually, emotionally, and socially.
How is the alumni network in India supporting Indian society and participating in global growth?
Since LSE has a long history of welcoming students from India to London, we are proud to have so many esteemed Indian alumni including BR Ambedkar, KR Narayanan and Mithan Tata. The LSE community in India is a network of changemakers on both a local and global scale, from grassroots initiatives up to the senior offices of government, business and society. Many are thought leaders, occupying influential roles in government bodies, think tanks, and international organisations, shaping local and global policy decisions.
LSE also has a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem in India focused on social impact. This has grown markedly in recent years through the support of LSE Generate, our home for entrepreneurship, which has fostered an extensive network of local alumni ambassadors, mentors, investors and advisors on the ground. Many of these startups place the need to address social issues at their core. There are now over 1,300 LSE alumni founders in India.