Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping industries across the globe, and business education is no exception.

The 2024 BSIS Symposium, hosted by the EFMD Global Business School Impact System (BSIS) team, explored how AI can drive positive change in business schools whilst addressing critical challenges and opportunities.

Held virtually over three days from 15 to 17 October, the Symposium brought together an international audience of Deans, Accreditation Managers, Chief Impact Officers, Faculty, and industry leaders. The event served as a platform to discuss AI’s role in enhancing educational innovation, improving student engagement, and equipping institutions with the tools needed to handle the complexities of an AI-driven future. It addressed a wide range of themes, from AI’s integration in research and teaching to the ethical considerations of its use.

Key themes from the symposium

1. AI as a Ubiquitous Force

AI has moved beyond being a specialised tool—it is now embedded in every aspect of our daily and professional lives. This requires business schools to adapt or risk being left behind. As Debra Leighton, BSIS Senior Advisor, highlighted, it is not just AI’s omnipresence that has caught schools off guard but the unprecedented speed of its innovation and adoption.

During his keynote speech, François Bonvalet, BSIS Director, also underlined the revolutionary character of AI, which extends far beyond business management education, in fact, it reshapes society as a whole. The rapid integration of AI across educational programmes shows its critical importance, with schools at all levels now developing comprehensive AI-focused curricula.

Speakers throughout the Symposium accentuated that AI and automation are reshaping skills demand, creating the need for upskilling and reskilling whilst still acknowledging the importance of critical thinking and emotional intelligence.

Furthermore, they mentioned that Business schools must integrate AI into curricula and research whilst developing comprehensive AI policies that address ethical use and inclusivity. All in all, AI literacy seems to no longer be an optional competency but a necessity for students and faculty alike.

2. Investment in AI tools

Given this pervasive character and rapid advancement of AI, one of the recurring topics of the Symposium was the financial resources available to Schools. Two main strategies emerged as best practices. Firstly, the top-down approach is led by management and faculty.

Although this strategy requires significant financial investment, it promotes innovation and generates impactful research outcomes. Alternatively, the bottom-up approach, driven by student feedback and implementation of AI Tools directly in classes, may also generate a positive educational impact.

As explained by Wilfred Mijnhardt (Erasmus University, Rotterdam), this approach offers a cost-effective solution. Mijnhardt showcased this strategy through the so-called “Frugal AI,” a “high concept-low cost” approach to AI. As a concrete example, he introduced the SummaScope, a tool which enables the user to analyse large amounts of data and transform it into an interactive map for future research purposes.

Schools can adapt their strategy based on their goals and resources. Ideally, however, a holistic approach combining both methods would ensure a comprehensive and sustainable outcome.

3. AI in Research and Teaching

In discussions about the potential of AI to enhance research and teaching practices, a broad palette of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude AI, Cobie AI, Scopus AI, and advanced machine learning models such as SummaScape emerged. Some of the Key themes included:

Enhancing research productivity

Alain Goudey (NEOMA Business School, France), in his session “The Future of AI in Business Education: Innovations and Research“, explained how AI can accelerate research by streamlining data analysis, generating literature reviews, and offering predictive modelling insights. He also stressed the challenges AI Tools might bring and the need to “unlearn and relearn” in order to use them efficiently.

Marc Salomon (University of Amsterdam) and Georgios Tsatsaronis (Elsevier) further demonstrated practical applications of AI in research, showcasing tools such as Scopus AI that improve efficiency and precision.

Personalised learning

Johan Roos (Hult International Business School) illustrated how AI enables tailored educational experiences by analysing student performance and adapting content to individual needs. This results in a more dynamic and engaging learning environment, moving beyond one-size-fits-all approaches whilst enhancing a cross-disciplinary learning experience.

Empowering educators

Haïthem Marzouki’s (NEOMA Business School) session “Empowering Educators with Impactful AI Skills: The future of teaching“ emphasised the importance of equipping faculty with AI competencies for pedagogical innovation.

Practical workshops and continuous professional development were recommended to ensure educators can integrate AI effectively into their teaching methods, as well as develop a comprehensive AI strategy for the school.

Peter Trkman and Luka Tomat (University of Ljubljana) shared insights into their institution’s use of generative AI tools, highlighting Cobie AI. They stressed the importance of training students to prompt AI effectively and to critically evaluate the credibility of AI-generated information.

4. Ethical and Regulatory Challenges

The ethical dimensions of AI adoption were a recurring theme throughout the Symposium. During “Ethical Considerations in AI for Positive Impact”, Kanan Hemachandran (Woxsen School of Business, India) discussed critical issues such as fairness, inclusivity, and the risk of bias in AI models. The geopolitical and cultural contexts of AI ethics were also explored, emphasising the need for diverse datasets to minimise stereotypes and potential discrimination.

Additionally, to support ethical AI use, a presentation by Costanza Mariani and Josip Kotlar (POLIMI Graduate School of Management, Italy) unfolded the topic of responsible AI use and regulatory frameworks. The European Union’s AI Act, a pioneering regulatory legal framework, was presented during this session. This legislation provides a four-level risk approach, from banning harmful AI applications to promoting innovation in low-risk systems, balancing safety and progress.

5. Training and Collaboration for AI Integration

The Symposium speakers and participants consistently stressed the importance of comprehensive training for both students and faculty. In fact, workshops and AI integration programmes were mentioned as an effective way to help faculty design impactful courses whilst acknowledging the limitations of AI technologies.

On the other hand, courses for students focused on AI literacy and including practical skills such as effective prompting were highlighted as an effective way to prepare the students for their future careers.

Collaboration with government, industry, and NGOs was also highlighted as crucial. Business schools play an important role in bridging theory and practice, producing future responsible leaders.

The way forward: Key takeaways from the Symposium

Here are some essential insights from the 2024 BSIS Symposium for positive impact:

• Embrace AI: Institutions must integrate AI into their curricula, research, and strategic plans to stay relevant. Implementation of AI is not optional, AI is pervasive.
• Foster Collaboration and networking: Sharing best practices with peers, industry partners, policymakers and external stakeholders is essential for sustainable progress, alongside an awareness of challenges and ethical considerations
• Promote Social Responsibility: Business schools bear a responsibility to prepare the next generation of leaders to use AI ethically, inclusively and transparently.
• Adopt a Comprehensive Strategy: Create a comprehensive AI Policy with a Quality Assurance strategy within your institution to ensure self-assessment as well as continuous improvement.

Although it was apparent from the Symposium that AI seems to represent an opportunity to transform business education for positive impact, we must be aware of the challenges and downsides of AI tools and automation, which is why a clear strategy and plan including quality assurance combined with well-crafted legislation is crucial.

Assessing the impact of AI will be a key element of impact assessment for business schools going forward, and we are grateful to our Symposium speakers for sharing their work and perspectives with Symposium participants.

Would you like to learn more about AI in business education for positive impact? Access the full programme and event content, including the Symposium presentations and recordings, here.

For additional insights, announcements and perspectives about BSIS, visit the conversation here.