On November 15th 2024, SHNU-UVU-UCA International Teaching Forum on Business Education, themed "The Challenges and Opportunities of Business Education in the Era of AI," was successfully held at Shanghai Normal University (SHNU). The Forum focused on the transformative impact of AI on business education and discussed how to cultivate professionals with AI literacy and innovative capabilities.
The Forum was jointly organized by SHNU, Utah Valley University (UVU), and Université Clermont Auvergne (UCA). It was held in two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, both moderated by Associate Professor Sixue JIA from the School of Finance and Business (SFB) at SHNU.
In the morning session, held in SFB A108 conference room, Professor Mingjun JIANG, Vice President of SHNU, delivered the opening remarks on behalf of SHNU. He emphasized while AI poses challenges to traditional business education, it also presents unprecedented opportunities for cultivating future business leaders. He also underscored the need to update curricula and teaching methodologies that drive educational innovation as a way of contributing fresh wisdom and strength to global business and societal development.
Professor Bob Allen, Dean of the Woodbury School of Business (WSB) at UVU, and Mr. Tom Macdonald, Assistant Dean of WSB, offered congratulations to SFB on its 30th anniversary and expressed their hopes for future cooperation between UVU and SHNU.
Professor Cécilia Brassier, Vice Dean of LCC at UCA, spoke about the rapid advancements in AI and stressed the importance of promoting AI-related courses and strengthening international cooperation and exchange in this field.
Professor Jianghui LIU, Dean of SFB, delivered a speech, with an emphasis on the impact of AI on the business sector. He highlighted that riding on a wave of AI and digital transformation, the business sector is undergoing unprecedented changes. As part of this new era, we recognize that traditional business education must adapt to these shifts in order to stay current. Amid the situation, this Forum provides a valuable opportunity to explore how to foster international cooperation in response to these challenges.
Professor Kangjuan LÜ, Party Secretary of the SILC Business School at Shanghai University, shared insights based on the university's educational experience. She delved into the application of AI in business education, curriculum design, and teaching innovation, and pointed out that while AI is ubiquitous, it is still in its infancy and will continue to evolve.
Associate Professor Min ZHU, Head of the Department of Business Data at SFB, used the film American Factory as a starting point to place emphasis on AI in business analysis. He gave priority to the need for a hands-on approach that can cultivate students' essential skills in applying AI.
Associate Professor Benjamin Cummings from WSB at UVU made a point of the role of AI in higher education. Drawing from his experience at UVU, he highlighted how AI can assist students in synthesizing knowledge and experiences, citing firsthand accounts of students benefiting from AI-powered learning processes.
Professor Juan Samuel Baixauli Soler, Dean of the School of Business at the University of Murcia, emphasized that universities should teach students the essential skills for applying AI in data processing, summary generation, financial strategy, and data visualization. He also discussed potential challenges in curriculum design from an institutional perspective, outlined the limitations of AI in students' learning process, and proposed solutions to address these issues.
Professor Serdar Durmusoglu from the School of Finance and Economics (SFE) at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) drew attention to the inevitability of introducing AI into the classroom through case studies. He discussed the costs, benefits, and trends of AI integration from a teaching management perspective, calling on greater collaboration among institutions to better adapt to the AI era.
The afternoon session was held at the Learning Commons on the first floor of SFB, with several experts from both domestic and international institutions in attendance. Dr. Rachel Bi, Head of the Department of Fintech at WSB, provided an in-depth overview of the types of AI and visually showcased real-world examples of AI applications in business settings through video. She analyzed the challenges posed by AI to humanity while also underlying the opportunities it will create for the future.
Associate Professor Fan YANG from SFB introduced the role of AI in Operations Research and Management Science Education through case studies. He analyzed both the pros and cons of AI in education, advocating for an open-minded approach to AI and the selection of tools that are genuinely beneficial to humanity.
Dr. Qin YAO, a young teacher from SFB, shared her personal teaching experience and suggested that AI can help students better understand foreign literature, boost their confidence, and increase engagement.
Following a brief tea break, a roundtable forum was held at the Learning Commons on the first floor of SFB, moderated by Associate Professor Sixue JIA. During the forum, several questions were raised for discussion: What new knowledge will be included in business education in the era of AI? How has AI changed our teaching methods and the way we prepare for teaching? What aspects of business education remain unchanged, and are there specific examples from teaching practice that can be shared?
Associate Professor Benjamin Cummings at WSB reiterated the importance of AI in business education, noting that it can further assist students in enhancing their communication skills. Associate Professor Pascal Brassier from IAE at UCA cited two examples to further emphasize this point. He suggested that business education should evolve with the times and provide students with ample opportunities to engage with AI. Based on the personal teaching experience, Professor Remen Chun-Wei LIN, Provost of Asia University, attached great importance to the growing responsibility of university educators to guide students in leveraging AI. He also noted that undergraduates, with their greater enthusiasm and energy, often exhibit a stronger eagerness to engage with AI compared to doctoral students. Professor Juan Samuel Baixauli Soler, Dean of the School of Business at the University of Murcia, suggested that Business and Computer Science disciplines should be integrated for mutual growth. It is essential to guide students in the proper use of AI and integrate AI advancements into teaching. Professor Cheng WU from SFB observed that students have increasingly made full use of AI tools for self-directed learning, raising concerns about the risk of replacing educators. The advent and development of AI not only changes students' learning paths but also transforms teaching methods. Professor Serdar Durmusoglu from the School of Intelligent Finance and Business (IFB) at XJTLU advocated for the appropriate integration of AI into the classroom, based on his own teaching experience. He emphasized that the use of AI can spark students' interest and encourage them to independently explore its applications.
Finally, Associate Professor Pascal Brassier from IAE at UCA delivered the closing remarks and shared his positive outlook on the Forum. He pointed out that the integration of AI in business education has become an inevitable trend of the times, encouraging its introduction to campuses with a focus on the practical needs of students.
SHNU-UVU-UCA International Teaching Forum on Business Education was a remarkable success. It was in perfect alignment with current trends, triggering dynamic discussions on the challenges faced by university students in the context of the rapid development of AI. As a key part of the 30th anniversary celebrations of SFB, the Forum served as an excellent platform for fostering international dialogue, sharing cutting-edge teaching experiences with partner institutions, and promoting global collaboration.
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