Expert-Speak: Why The Business Degree Needs To Log In To AI – Forbes Africa

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As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes how we work, there is escalating concern that some business degrees are preparing students for a world that no longer exists.
While AI is reshaping everything from customer service to corporate strategy, the business education curriculum in some universities continues to revolve around dated models, traditional assessments and content that no longer mirrors the realities of modern work.
Most of today’s business degrees were designed before the emergence of data-driven dashboards, predictive algorithms and generative tools that can whip up a 20-page proposal in less time than it takes to make a cup of coffee. Graduates of some university undergraduate qualifications are emerging well-versed in classical concepts–supply chains, business plans and balance sheets–but unprepared for the digital and data-driven workplaces they now join.
In the workplace, AI is already entrenched in many roles from writing marketing copy, streamlining recruitment and forecasting sales to responding to customers and summarizing performances. But business education has been slow to respond.
Many business courses continue to churn out graduates who are far more familiar with case studies from the past than the challenges of the present. While some universities have introduced stand-alone electives or seminars on AI, the technology remains on the margins of most undergraduate-degree programs.
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AI is treated as a specialized topic rather than the mainstream reality that is.
This leaves undergraduate students unprepared not just in their ability to use the tools but understand AI’s strengths, weaknesses and role in responsible decision-making. What is needed is a curriculum shake-up to deliver a syllabus that speaks to the new world of work.
Business degrees are not past their use-by date but they need a refresh to reflect the rapidly changing landscape they are preparing students for. The modern business degree needs to reflect the tools, technologies and thinking that is now standard across many industries.
AI fluency is no longer a nice-to-have. It has become an essential skill, sitting alongside communication, teamwork and leadership. Graduates must use AI with confidence, interpret its outputs and recognize where its use poses ethical or strategic concerns. Without that confidence, many step into the workplace unsure how to engage with a force that is already influencing decisions around them.
A modern business course should incorporate AI from the ground up, including a basic understanding of how it works and its implications. It should also include learning how to interact with AI platforms, write effective prompts, assess results and apply human judgement where machines fall short.
Students benefit most when AI is embedded across subjects in their degrees, rather than siloed into a single unit. Business education works best when it mirrors the workplace–and the workplace is increasingly digitized.
At the same time, human skills remain just as important. As AI takes on more repetitive and data-heavy tasks, the need for critical thinking, emotional intelligence and ethical reasoning grows stronger. Business leaders remain required to navigate complexity, manage relationships and make judgement calls that go beyond what a machine can compute. These are not skills that AI can copy but qualities that set great leaders apart in a world powered by technology.
Graduates stepping into AI-driven workplaces need to be prepared to work alongside machines–not to try to outdo them. This shift calls for confidence with tools but also courage in decision-making.
Business schools have long positioned themselves as places that develop leadership, strategic thinking and future-ready graduates. Their reputation depends on their ability to anticipate and embrace change.
There is opportunity in this moment. Universities can build partnerships with industry to co-design the curriculum, test new approaches and share ideas. Academics can lead the way in teaching AI use that is not only effective but ethical. Students can graduate with the technical knowledge to use new tools and the personal judgement needed to know when they should not.
AI is no longer futuristic. It is firmly embedded in business operations and needs to be better embedded in degrees that prepare students for the world of work. In a world of artificial intelligence, we will need genuine intelligence more than ever.
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