AI Skills in EDHEC’s GMBA: Essential Knowledge for Future Leaders 

The Global MBA program at the leading business school in France, EDHEC,  now includes AI skills as standard. This addition to the curriculum is timely, since ChatGPT launched in 2022, generative AI has radically altered the business landscape. 

As well as revamping their core Global MBA to include AI-related expertise, EDHEC also created a specific Specialization Track in AI & Innovation. This will serve students who wish to go deeper and pursue technical skills, as well as gain hands-on experience.

MBAGRADSCHOOLS met with Professor Michelle Sisto, who leads EDHEC’s AI Centre. Here’s what she had to say about AI in the GMBA curriculum and how it prepares students for leadership during the so-called fourth industrial revolution. 

Why EDHEC Reshaped its GMBA Around AI 

Working with AI since the 1980s, Michelle holds a unique position. Her long-term perspective on the field previously termed ‘expert systems’ allows her to assess the role AI will play in the future of business. 

She explained that to maximize career opportunities in leadership, a solid grounding in AI is no longer a nice-to-have. It’s a must. 

In her words, “In 2030, five years from now, AI is going to be integrated across industries, sectors, and functions. It doesn’t matter which industry, sector, or function you’re in, somehow AI will be impacting that.” (16:45) 

Given the reach of this technology, it was necessary to radically redesign EDHEC’s flagship GMBA to remain relevant. 

AI in EDHEC’s Core GMBA Curriculum: Tools, Strategy, and Change Management   

As Michelle explained, the AI skills integrated into the core curriculum will have two main overarching objectives. First, students will understand how corporations can use AI at a process level. This includes a bootcamp to introduce key tools and skills. It also involves a module, AI for Business Strategy, where students learn to evaluate which tasks suit automation, from a practical, social, and sustainability perspective. 

“We want [students] to have a very clear awareness of what types of problems are treatable by AI. What is not treatable by AI? What are the energy consumption requirements? What are the environmental and potential social impacts?” (1:54) 

Then the second objective, and the one Michelle affords the most emphasis, is in change management. 

She says, “In leadership positions, one of the keys is going to be: how do you accompany people across this huge transition and upskilling that’s going to be necessary? We want all our students to have a broad understanding of that.” (2:09) 

In the face of rapid transformation, tomorrow’s leaders must be able to roll with the punches and adapt, whilst helping their teams do the same. 

AI & Innovation in EDHEC’s MBA: Technical Proficiency and Hands-on Business Experience 

Students of the EDHEC GMBA specialization track in AI & Innovation will gain considerable AI leadership experience. They’ll have a deep understanding of adoption issues such as data privacy, algorithmic bias, and regulatory compliance, as well as relevant technical skills. They’ll also have participated in an applied AI project at a real company. 

To be specific, the three strands of the specialization track cover: 

1. Managing Innovation and Digital Transformation

The first section of the specialization track offers a deeper understanding of the themes introduced in the AI for Business Strategy module. 

Michelle expands, “The first part is a course on digital transformation and leadership. It’s really about, from a strategic point of view within a company, how do you deal with digital transformation and the change management with your people that are associated with that. That’s key. No matter how great the technology is, if you can’t accompany people to adopt it, you won’t have a successful project.” (2:30) 

Hence, the emphasis here is on learning how to successfully lead a team through intense change. 

2. Exploring and Applying AI

The second aspect of the specialization moves from theory to practice. This section changes every year, to match the breakneck pace of AI innovation. This year’s offer will focus on Agentic AI. In other words, building AI ‘agents’ or assistants. 

She describes ,“If you’re following this in the press, this is the year of agentic AI, So not just how can you use AI to do research or to create an image, but how you can start using AI to be an assistant and to create AI that can carry out actions.” (2:59) 

Therefore, this section, delivered by external experts, means the module can remain agile whilst offering the most up-to-date skills.

3. Industry Acceleration Project

The third part of the course will be an action learning project for a company, one of the school’s industry partners. 

She explains, “Students will put into place an AI system, [reporting on]: ‘this is the type of problem we’re facing, these are the approaches we could use with different AI systems, and this is how we would put them into place’.” (3:27) 

In the past, the program has partnered with consulting giant IBM. However, going forward, GMBA students will work with small to medium-sized businesses, where their work can have the most impact.

AI Transformation Management Skills: Necessary for Future Leaders   

EDHEC’s GMBA program has robust AI integration throughout. The school does not shy away from the technical challenge this innovation poses. As Michelle mentions, they’re even trialling AI avatars for professors. 

However, according to her, the most vital aspect of the GMBA’s AI offering is its focus on soft skills: learning how to respond to change and to help others do the same. 

She shares, “[The most important thing students will learn is] how to lead people in situations of great uncertainty. The only thing we can be certain of today is that there will be great uncertainty, even five years from now,  and that AI will be part of that.” (17:40) 

By spotlighting human-centred management skills, EDHEC’s GMBA prepares graduates to lead with confidence in the AI age. 

Do you want to specialize in something specific? Find out more about the specializations in various MBA programs across the globe.

Want to study at EDHEC? Take our eligibility quiz to see if you qualify!