How Business Education Providers Can Benefit From Embracing Robotics & AI, According To Experts

The development of artificial intelligence has advanced at a pace so rapid, it’s taken everyone by surprise. But robotics and AI are here to stay, impacting everything from medicine to journalism to education.

So how can business education providers embrace these technologies to stay ahead of the curve?

Kelvin Song, Lecturer in Technovate and data analytics-related courses at GLOBIS University, believes business education providers need to embrace AI and robotics now if they’re serious about developing the next generation of successful leaders.

He explains: “Business leaders are now required to understand how to integrate AI into the workforce, such as by ‘outsourcing’ tasks to AI or augmenting humans to increase productivity. This evolution has profound implications for business education, as we need to reconsider what is taught and how it is being taught.”

How is AI currently used in business education?

Business education providers are increasingly recognising the potential of robotics and AI in delivering their programmes, utilising it for things such as:

• Plagiarism detection
• Assistance with course scheduling and enrolment
• Providing real-time feedback to learners
• Grading assessments against predetermined criteria
• Providing assessment insights and analytics to course providers
• Simulating a wider variety of role play scenarios
• Personalising learning experiences to suit different learner styles
• Translating course materials into multiple languages
• Analysing a variety of real-world business scenarios
• Answering common student enquiries via an AI chatbot

The benefits of embracing AI in business education

With so many potential uses, the benefits of embracing robotics and AI in business education are endless. Kelvin shares some key ones below…

1. Prepare learners for the real world of business

“Business education providers can better prepare learners for the real world of business by harnessing AI to simulate a variety of business scenarios that require different responses and skills. AI role-plays provide a different approach to interactive learning that can be incredibly valuable.

“AI tools usually require very specific prompts to produce the desired results, so spending time discovering what makes an effective brief while studying can also help future leaders hone their skills for briefing their teams in the future.”

2. Improve course access

“AI allows business education providers to widen access to their programmes, as it can be used to translate course materials and other resources into multiple languages, quickly and accurately. This use of artificial intelligence can be incredibly useful for international universities like GLOBIS.”

3. Enable learners to realise AI’s full potential

“Using AI in a learning environment provides learners with the opportunity to realise its potential and understand the best ways to use it as a tool before entering the real world of business.”

4. Improve how learners are assessed

“AI algorithms can also be used to improve the way learners are assessed, as they can be built around predetermined criteria. This can make it quicker and easier to deliver assignment feedback, so learners can see where they need to improve faster.”

5. Save time and money

“Making use of AI in the ways listed above can save business education providers both time and money. Artificial intelligence can speed up processes, often making them almost instantaneous, saving lecturers time on tasks such as lesson planning and grading.

“As a result, this may save universities money too, as extra staff may not need to be employed to assist with previously time-consuming administrative tasks.”

What’s the future of AI in business education?

What does the future hold for AI and robotics in business education?

Kelvin says: “I believe that education, including business education, will be personalised in the future. AI will act as a personal companion, like a coach, for people studying business.

“This would be an incredibly interesting development, providing learners with a coach they can turn to for advice and guidance, without impacting their lecturers’ time.”

Kelvin adds: “Regarding robotics, we now have the ‘brain’, but soon I think we’ll see the development of ‘bodies’. We need arms and legs to outsource physical tasks like housework, and I believe we’ll soon see robotics catching up. This offers another dimension for business leaders to consider in terms of how to restructure the workforce.

“Robotic ‘bodies’ could potentially be used to assist lectures in managing classroom logistics, physically take part in role-play scenarios in workshops or business simulations, or demonstrate advanced automation in production workflows, giving students hands-on experience with the technology driving modern industries. With AI developing at such a rapid pace, business education providers need to start embracing these technologies in their current form to stay ahead of the game.”

How GLOBIS University is embracing AI

GLOBIS has its own AI research institute, the GLOBIS AI Management Education Research Institute (GAiMERi), which it uses to leverage artificial intelligence to disrupt business education. GAiMERi uses AI to analyse learning data from GLOBIS research, before incorporating this into GLOBIS products and workflows.

Other AI programmes used by the business school include:

• GAiL (GLOBIS AI Learning), a patented platform currently powering its nano-MBA programme
• GAiChaL (GLOBIS AI Chat Learning), which is used in the nano-MBA
• GAiChaL-2.0, utilised for supplementary learning in the Essential of Accounting module
• GAiDES (GLOBIS Document Evaluation System), used to analyse class questionnaires and to support the grading of written reports in several courses, such as Critical Thinking

GLOBIS University has always been ahead of tech trends, and was one of the first business schools in Asia to offer Online MBAs in 2015.

When the COVID-19 lockdown hit in 2019, GLOBIS’s tech-first approach meant it took just two days to convert all MBA classes online, meaning there was minimal learning disruption for students.

GLOBIS also uses AI to transform business education by screening MBA applications using AI algorithms.