What Is It Like To Learn About AI At A Business School In China?

There are few countries as sophisticated and technologically advanced as China. From the healthcare sector to autonomous vehicles and power consumption, industries across China are being shaped by the power of artificial intelligence (AI).

In fact, in 2024 Beijing’s Tsinghua University built the world’s first artificial intelligence hospital town, which is set to revolutionize healthcare.China, as one of the world’s largest economies, shows no signs of stopping in its pursuit of AI innovation and growth. By 2030, it is forecast that AI will increase China’s GDP by 26%. 

BusinessBecause caught up with LI Ning, Ph.D, professor and department head for Leadership and Organization Management at Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management (Tsinghua SEM), to find out why MBA applicants should consider learning about AI at a business school in China.

Why students should look to China to study AI 

AI in China is evolving at a rapid rate, which makes it an exciting place to learn about and experience trends in disruptive technologies.  

“In China, you will experience this overall climate of embracing AI. While the US may have a solid foundation of large language models, in China there are a lot of entrepreneurs and startups applying AI,” explains LI Ning.

LI Ning is also the Flextronics chair professor at Tsinghua University, as well as the associate editor of Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes and the deputy editor of Management and Organization Review.

“China is at the forefront of AI—you’re exposed to all scenarios where AI is applied, which is unique,” he adds.

China is home to renowned AI-driven companies such as Baidu, SenseTime, and Didi, offering inspiration for ambitious business school grads with their sights set on tech entrepreneurship in the Asian powerhouse.

“Although AI is prevalent in other regions across the world, I don't see the same level of enthusiasm [towards AI] that you experience in China,” he says.

Applying and practicing AI at business school

Tsinghua University has more than 100 courses that integrate AI into the curriculum.

Since AI is only going to become more entrenched in the business world, MBA students need to understand the relationship between management and technology.

Tsinghua SEM offers a Managerial Thinking course in its MBA curriculum, which considers the changing trends in the workplace.

“This course has traditionally been positioned as a soft skills course but at Tsinghua, we pivot away from the idea that managerial thinking is solely concerned with soft skills.”

The Managerial Thinking course is designed with the purpose of teaching Global MBA students how to embrace data-driven decision making within the realm of People Analytics.

Students learn via a mix of case discussions, MBA experiential learning, and interactive lectures.

“Not all students are equipped with the relevant knowledge and skills to leverage data to make better decisions.”

That’s why AI is embedded within the newly designed course as AI technology is used to empower students with the ability to analyze and collect data to inform people-related, decision-making processes and workplace analytics.

“The course allows students to enhance both their hard and soft skills. AI allows students to expand their abilities even if, for example, a student hasn’t previously taken a stats course,” he says.

He explains that AI now levels the playing field, with students who take this course being able to confidently apply for jobs that demand a combination of people management and data analysis skills.

The course at Tsinghua SEM invites students to perform more complex, cutting-edge analysis using the most recent large language models such as ChatGPT or Chinese platforms such as ChatGLM. 

ChatGLM, a renowned Chinese AI language model, is based on Tsinghua University's technological breakthroughs and was originally created by a team of distinguished scholars from Tsinghua University.

The platform, which serves as an open-source alternative to ChatGPT, was jointly designed by Tsinghua University Knowledge Engineering Group Lab and Zhipu AI Company in 2023.

ChatGLM can be used for story generation, applied math, coding, image identification, or drawing/artwork. It is developed for the Chinese language and even outperforms ChatGPT in Chinese, according to its creators.

The platform is an example of China’s innovative approach to artificial intelligence, crafting a platform that sophistically serves the needs of a Chinese-speaking audience.

“Humans and AI can work together in this course as partners to perform analysis, delivery reports, or make presentations. At the end of the course, everyone will understand how to work with AI to perform complex data tasks.”

Some of the components of the Managerial Thinking course include The Logic Behind People Analytics, Data Analysis and Identifying Key Drivers, and The Impact of Generative AI on People Analytics.

One of the projects invites students to create a plan that addresses an organizational challenge—such as employee turnover or engagement—using data sources to offer a potential solution.

The benefits of AI implementation at business school

The use of AI integrated learning at business school offers limitless opportunities.

LI Ning emphasizes the idea that students can continuously learn from both their professors and the AI platforms.

“We plan to count AI agents as teaching partners so, for example, I can give the selective materials, the readings, the books, and relevant teaching to the AI agent.

“In addition to the lectures, MBA students can learn from the conversations with the AI agent—discussions that would have previously been limited to those taking place during in-class time,” he says.

If students are really interested in a specific question or topic, the idea is that they do not have to wait to ask these questions to the professor.

“Different students may ask different questions based on their perspectives and needs, which fosters a learning community among MBAs, as students can share with one another how they collaborate with AI,” he says.

AI trends in business school in China

While AI offers a myriad of opportunities, it also poses some challenges for business schools, particularly due to the very real risk of generative AI being used to plagiarize assignments.

“Some schools might prohibit students from using AI in their coursework, yet in China we are embracing this trend.

“There’s no point in prohibiting but rather rethinking how the education should be redesigned.”

LI Ning notes that if an assignment can be easily completed by AI, then perhaps it’s not an appropriate assignment for students. Instead, he proposes reimagining how AI can be used to challenge students.

From a Global MBA to exciting AI careers in China 

As well as boasting a rich entrepreneurial ecosystem, Tsinghua SEM partners with top multinational companies including Microsoft, Google, and McKinsey.

Students can meet such employers at campus talks, company field visits, and employer recruitment events hosted by Tsinghua SEM’s Career Development Center (CDC).

“At Tsinghua, we understand what companies want and the talent they are looking for,” says LI Ning.

MBA grads might look to product management roles within the tech, consulting, and finance sectors, or pursue AI-related roles in startups.

“A lot of jobs in companies now either indirectly or directly relate to AI,” he says.

China is already at the forefront of technological change and MBA graduates who have attended a top business school in China will be well positioned to access new and innovative jobs in China and beyond.