In a context where the global economy, geopolitical tensions, accelerated digitalization, and social challenges are redefining business practice, business schools face an essential question: What kind of leaders are they developing for a world that is deeply interdependent, unequal, and digital?
From my perspective as a researcher, the findings of three recent studies I have conducted suggest that it is time to rethink the traditional educational framework. By analyzing the impact of education on the development of a global mindset, the conditions that enable or hinder it, and the competencies that emerge from professional practice in high-tech environments, the evidence reveals a clear pattern: business schools in Latin America need to evolve toward a model that combines global mindset, global pedagogy, and the development of advanced digital competencies.
First, my findings on international online visits show that the development of a global mindset no longer depends on physical mobility. In this study, the evidence collected through surveys and interviews with university students reveals that well-designed virtual international experiences strengthen global mindset, expand students’ awareness of international dynamics and, above all, connect these perspectives with their own professional aspirations.
This is particularly important in Latin America, where economic and migratory constraints often limit academic mobility. Virtual international experiences operate, in this sense, as a democratizing mechanism: they enable students who would not otherwise be able to travel to build international networks and to articulate their professional identity in relation to global references. The results of this study confirm that a global mindset does not arise solely from intercultural contact, but from the ability to interpret that interaction in relation to each student’s personal and professional project. The research concludes that the internationalization of the future is not exclusively about geographical mobility; it is also cognitive.
Second, my study on emancipatory pedagogy shows that business education remains anchored in a technical paradigm that prioritizes efficiency, regulatory compliance, and the reproduction of existing economic structures. When comparing the Mexican and Swedish contexts, the data gathered through questionnaires and interviews with academics and students show that this technocratic logic, although indispensable for certain professional fields, limits students’ capacity to understand inequalities, identify social challenges, and participate actively as co-creators of an alternative economic and governance model.
However, the study also revealed an encouraging finding: the same structural challenges that are often perceived as barriers—bureaucracy, pressure to professionalize, lack of resources—can become catalysts for emancipatory pedagogical innovation when teachers leverage them to open spaces for critical reflection, interdisciplinarity, and dialogue. Emancipatory pedagogy does not seek to contradict the technical dimension, but to broaden it, integrating real-world problems, marginalized voices, and ethical frameworks that allow students to understand the social implications of business.
The third component arises from my work on internships in high-tech environments, where the results of the study, based on testimonies from students at Swedish universities, show that technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, and advanced digital systems are already part of the operational core of many organizations. The analysis of internship reports showed that students perceive these tools not as optional competencies, but as indispensable skills for solving problems, interpreting data, and navigating complex business environments.
In this context, the study’s conclusions indicate that the learning generated through internships is strengthened when students face real technological challenges and reflect on them within an active cycle of experimentation and conceptualization. This finding is particularly relevant for Latin America, where digitalization is progressing unevenly and technological gaps risk becoming employability gaps. In such a context, advanced technological training not only enhances professional preparation; it can also become a vehicle for social mobility.
By integrating these three axes—global mindset, emancipatory pedagogy, and digital competencies—a coherent educational framework for the next decade begins to take shape. Hybrid internationalization enables students to understand the world. An emancipatory perspective enables them to interpret and question it. Digital competencies equip them to operate in it, anticipate it, and transform it. Together, these elements make it possible to educate professionals who can navigate complex global realities, make decisions with social responsibility, interact with emerging technologies, and lead organizations that balance competitiveness with impact.
Beyond curriculum design, these findings invite a rethinking of the institutional purpose of business schools. The question is no longer how many technical competencies students can accumulate, but how to design educational experiences that integrate global, emancipatory, and technological dimensions in an organic and meaningful way.
For Latin America—a region marked by structural challenges and emerging opportunities—this approach not only enhances professional preparation; it helps develop forms of leadership capable of driving economic, social, and technological transformations. Taking these dimensions into account, business schools can educate professionals who not only read the global world, but who can also question it, participate in its redefinition, and build responsible solutions in a digitalized and constantly changing context.
