Mumbai | 30th April: Prin. L. N. Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research (PGDM), Mumbai, hosted an important session by global Marketing Legend, Prof. V. Kumar, on April 24, 2026. The session, titled “Aligning Academia, Industry, and the Future Workforce in the Era of New Age Technologies,” brought together faculty, students, and industry practitioners for an intellectually stimulating and practically grounded exploration of how new age technologies (NATs) — including artificial intelligence, generative AI, machine learning, blockchain, the Internet of Things, robotics, drones, and the metaverse — are fundamentally reshaping the future of education, work, and organisational strategy.
Prof. Kumar opened the address by stating that alignment between academia and industry should not be viewed as a compromise, but rather as a strategic intersection where innovation, growth, and opportunity can flourish. He outlined the dramatic transformation taking place in the global workforce, noting the millions of jobs being displaced by automation and technology, while several newer job roles anticipated to emerge. In this regard, he underscored the importance of ensuring the employability of the graduates as an urgent need in bridging the widening skills gap. The session also examined the changing nature of work, tracing the transition from humans performing all tasks independently, to humans collaborating with NATs, and ultimately to NATs increasingly executing tasks autonomously. In this context, Dr. Kumar stressed the importance of NATs that are fundamentally reshaping how businesses operate and how skills are defined.
A major highlight of the session was the introduction of the “3Es Framework” for alignment — Education, Experience, and Engagement. He noted that Education is delivered to academia, enabling personalized learning pathways, AI-driven curriculum curation, immersive simulations through virtual and augmented reality, and real-time knowledge dissemination. Experience is delivered to industry through real-world-simulated internships, work-integrated learning (WIL), digital twins, and co-creation platforms. Engagement of the workforce is delivered to the future workforce through tools that foster agency, purpose-driven learning, and self-directed growth paths powered by AI personalisation. Here, Dr. Kumar further elaborated on transformative dimensions shaping modern business ecosystems.
The address then turned to the five transformative domains – transformative education, transformative marketing, transformative branding, transformative operations, and transformative strategy – through which the 3 Es are operationalised. Particularly, he emphasized on the power of transformative education models driven by dynamic curricula, lifelong learning initiatives, and self-learning platforms to be critical. He also discussed the concept of “University as a Platform (UaaP)” as a significant theme, describing the evolution of universities from location-based institutions into scalable, technology-enabled ecosystems facilitating global and flexible education delivery. Citing examples from leading global organizations such as Nike, Zara, Lego, Amazon, Sephora, BMW, and JPMorgan, among others, Dr. Kumar illustrated how the five transformative domains are using NATs to enable personalization, predictive intelligence, operational agility, hyper-automation, and enhanced user engagement.
Prof. Kumar closed his address by bringing together the threads of the session into a call for structural alignment among the three actors. He contrasted the current state — siloed institutions, lagging curricula, frustrated employers, and under-skilled graduates — with the vision of a NAT-powered networked ecosystem that produces work-ready graduates, gives industry active co-creators of knowledge, and allows academia to earn relevance, reach, and revenue simultaneously. The address concluded with a call to action directed at each of the three stakeholder groups. Academia was urged to stop designing curricula for yesterday’s jobs and start building platforms, not pipelines. Industry was urged to stop waiting for work-ready graduates and start co-creating them — and branding that effort. The future workforce was urged to stop consuming education passively and start building its ecosystem.
An engaging discussion followed, where participants raised thought-provoking questions regarding the role of policy, the prioritization of meta-skills, and the inclusivity of educational institutions. Dr. Kumar emphasized that policy frameworks serve as a critical fourth pillar in enabling collaboration between academia, industry, and workforce ecosystems. He further advocated for a shift from degree-centric education to capability-driven learning focused on adaptability, critical thinking, and continuous skill development.
Dr. Kumar concluded the session with a powerful message on the need to collaboratively shape the future of work by stating that “The future of growth is not in any one of the three spaces. It is in the space they share.”
About Dr. V. Kumar
A globally renowned marketing thought leader and currently the Goodman Academic-Industry Partnership Professor at Brock University (Canada), Dr. Kumar’s work stands at the intersection of academia, analytics, and real-world business impact. What makes his journey truly remarkable is not just the scale of his scholarship—over 300 research publications and dozens of books—but the way his ideas have influenced how organizations think about customers, data, and long-term value.
Dr. Kumar is widely regarded as a pioneer in customer lifetime value and customer relationship management, helping organizations move beyond short-term transactions to build sustainable, data-driven customer strategies. His contributions have earned him global recognition—including induction into the Analytics Hall of Fame and being honored as a “Legend in Marketing.”
About Prin. L. N. Welingkar Institute of Management Development & Research (WeSchool): WeSchool is one of India’s premier management institutes, renowned for its innovative approach to education and leadership. Known for its focus on creating industry-ready professionals, WeSchool offers a wide array of programs that empower students to navigate complex global challenges while remaining rooted in Indian values. Through its pioneering initiatives like the PGPTM program, WeSchool continues to redefine management education, shaping the leaders of tomorrow.
