A business school on a mission Monday, 13 December 2021

Societal expectations of the role and purpose of business schools have changed as understanding of the world’s greatest problems has grown. These are hugely challenging times in which complex and inextricable ‘wicked problems’ – including hunger, food security, poverty, inequality, climate change and sustainability – are being addressed with a sense of urgency. Their scale and complexity prevents any single societal entity from achieving meaningful success. It’s only with collaboration between organisations and across sectors, and with common intent and a powerful sense of purpose, that real impact becomes achievable and sustainable.

By that, we mean collaboration between government, business and civil society – all of these are critical for identifying and defining the goals for the betterment of all. We are an international business school with an alumni community that stretches all over the world, which means we have global opportunities to further fulfil our potential for engagement and impact. And engaging and collaborating in meaningful ways with external stakeholders and society at large means we can create positive impact.

Half a century since RSM was founded, our challenge now is to manage the transition towards becoming a fully impact-led institution, to ensure the knowledge we create and the relationships we build genuinely and measurably make a positive difference.