Rutgers Business School partners with Google to enhance teaching and classroom learning with Generative AI

Rutgers Business School is partnering with Google to provide its students and educators with the ability to experience the power of generative AI in their classrooms. 

By making AI tools easily accessible and integrating knowledge about the technology and its use in industry into its coursework, Rutgers Business School is expanding its efforts to ensure that students are job-ready in a changing work world. 

The agreement will make Google’s Cloud AI, a collection of AI-powered large language models such as Meta’s Llama, Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini – available through a single interface to students and faculty across Rutgers Business School campuses in New Brunswick and Newark starting this fall. Rutgers is one of the first colleges in the nation to implement the Google Cloud AI platform.

“The fast advancement of technologies has fundamentally shifted the landscape of the business world and is making a transformative impact across industries,” said Lei Lei, dean of Rutgers Business School. “As a large public business school, our ambition is to prepare graduates with the skills and talent most in demand by industry.” 

"Today, that requires revamping the learning experience, creating innovative and disruptive content, to ensure that our students gain a strong understanding of the emerging technologies, including AI, that companies are eager to use,” she said. 

The partnership and the coinciding curricula changes at Rutgers Business School follow another major announcement by leaders at Rutgers University to expand the scope of its research and scholarship on artificial intelligence and data science.

“Rutgers Business School’s initiative reflects the university’s commitment to being a national leader in better understanding AI and its applications in industry,” said Rutgers University President Jonathan Holloway.

“Rutgers University is positioning itself as an innovator in these revolutionary technologies by producing ground-breaking insights and educating students in AI’s useful applications,” Holloway said.

Focus on Practical Application and Responsible AI

As Rutgers Business School puts Google’s platform into use, faculty members are revamping coursework for graduate and undergraduate students to include both a fundamental understanding of AI and a practical knowledge of how the technology is being used in areas like accounting, marketing and supply chain. The curricula changes include the addition of an MBA concentration in AI, a Master of Science in Marketing Analytics and Insights, and the new Master of Accountancy in Accounting and Analytics, which offers a specialization in AI. The platform is built on the proven security of the Google Cloud and ensures that data entered into the system will not contribute to the training of the large language models – a specific concern that overshadowed the technology’s widespread use in higher education.

"At Google Public Sector, we're committed to empowering the next generation of leaders with the responsible AI tools they need to succeed, as well as advancing education for everyone,” said Brent Mitchell, vice president of Go-to-Market, Google Public Sector. “Our collaboration with Rutgers, the first public business school to adopt Gemini, prioritizes student data privacy and ethical considerations, allowing educators to confidently bring cutting-edge AI into their classrooms.”

“We are proud to partner with Rutgers Business School, an institution dedicated to pioneering AI education and equipping students with the skills and knowledge to thrive in a world increasingly shaped by this transformative technology," Mitchell said.

Building on a Legacy of AI Research

Rutgers Business School has a long history of AI research, with faculty like Professor Jaideep Vaidya, director of the Rutgers Institute for Data Science, Learning and Applications who is recognized internationally for his research in data security, data mining and AI, and Professor Miklos Vasarhelyi who pioneered the application of AI in the accounting industry.

Professor Hussein Issa, who chaired a task force of faculty charged with integrating AI into the undergraduate academic courses, said there are many uses of AI tools for students, including tutoring, overcoming language barriers and writing code. Faculty, he said, can use AI to enhance their syllabi and teaching materials as well as to create case studies and quizzes. 

While Rutgers Business School wants to make it possible for students to use the tools in the classroom, Issa said, it also wants to provide an understanding of how the technology works and how it can be applied in the areas that the students are studying and preparing to work in.

Every Student will have Knowledge of AI for Business

The faculty task force decided to introduce AI in the same way they teach statistics to undergraduate business school students, starting with the fundamentals and using that knowledge to learn more specific applications. More advanced AI-focused classes for both graduate students and undergraduates will be adapted from teachings in programs like the Master of Information Technology and Analytics and the Master of Accountancy in Accounting and Analytics.

“Every student who graduates will have knowledge of AI for business,” Issa said. “That was the main motivation.”

In Issa’s accounting classes, third- and fourth-year students are already learning how to use Generative AI in case studies that require them to analyze financial statements, to make comparative analysis of company performance and do predictive analysis of profitability. In exercises that require students to summarize company ESG reports, they learn how to engineer prompts and compare how the results change based on their prompts.

In her undergraduate AI for Marketing course, Professor Madhavi Chakrabarty uses available AI tools, including ChatGPT, Gemini and Firefly, to give her students experience working with the technology to generate creative assets like written text, videos and images. They also gain experience in developing effective prompts on the AI tools. 

“The Google Cloud AI tools will definitely enhance the student’s learning experience and will make them more prepared for their next internship or job or provide them with a tool to complete their research,” Chakrabarty said. “This demonstrates Rutgers Business School’s commitment to innovating our curriculum.”

New MBA concentration in AI 

In addition to undergraduate curricula changes, the Rutgers MBA Program will offer a new AI concentration to both part-time and full-time students beginning in spring, 2025. The curriculum includes new courses such as AI Applications in Supply Chain and Leading with AI-Strategies for Business Management as well as more advanced courses like Algorithmic Machine Learning and Data Analysis and Visualization.

Like the undergraduate courses, the MBA concentration will also offer students the ability to learn how AI is being applied in industry. “I strongly believe in its importance for our students,” said Weiwei Chen, senior director of the Rutgers MBA Program. “It will equip them with the skills and knowledge necessary to be more competitive in the job market.”

Part-Time MBA student Sridivya Raghavan said she was excited about the ability to learn more about AI. 

“Rutgers Business School's newest concentration in AI provides a great opportunity for students,” Raghavan said. “AI is currently one of the foremost topics in the world, and both companies and individuals should embrace and learn about its advantages (and disadvantages). By doing so, they open themselves up to growth and they become part of a futuristic world.” 

-Susan Todd