Rutgers Business School Partners with Google to Enhance Teaching and Learning Experiences with Generative AI

Rutgers Business School is one of the first education institutions in the nation to equip educators with powerful productivity tools and offer AI courses to students in every major.

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., Nov. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Rutgers Business School is partnering with Google Public Sector and Slalom to provide its students and educators with the ability to experience the power of generative AI in the classroom. This collaboration provides students and faculty access to Google Cloud AI, a single place to discover, customize, and deploy more than 150 foundation models from Google and its partners such as Meta's Llama, Anthropic's Claude, and Google's Gemini.

At the same time, Rutgers Business School is introducing a revamped curricula to ensure that students gain the knowledge necessary to thrive in a rapidly evolving job market shaped by AI.

"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," Lei said. "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."

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

AI Across the Curriculum

Rutgers Business School is also revamping its coursework to incorporate AI across various disciplines, including accounting, marketing, and supply chain management. Key curriculum changes include:

• New MBA Concentration in AI: Launching in Spring 2025, the MBA concentration will feature courses like Introduction to AI, Leading with AI-Strategies for Business Management, Data Mining, and Algorithmic Machine Learning.
• Master of Accountancy in Accounting and Analytics: The program offers a specialization in AI, equipping students with robust analytical skills. Its curricula will be powered by some of the advanced AI coursework taught in the Rutgers Master of Information Technology and Analytics Program.
• Undergraduate Integration: AI concepts and tools will be integrated into core undergraduate business courses, ensuring that all students gain a foundational understanding of AI.

Focus on Practical Application and Responsible AI

Faculty members are committed to providing students with both an understanding of AI and practical experience using AI tools in real-world business scenarios. Some, like Professor Hussein Issa, have already incorporated AI into their teaching.

In Issa's accounting classes, third- and fourth-year students learn 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 Gemini, 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.

"Every student who graduates will have knowledge of AI for business," said Issa, who led the faculty task force on AI integration. "That was the main motivation."

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 work in data security, data mining and AI, and Professor Miklos Vasarhelyi pioneering the application of AI in the accounting industry. The partnership with Google Public Sector builds on this legacy and positions Rutgers Business School at the forefront of AI education.

Partnering with Google to Securely Advance Education

Security is paramount for education organizations. Google Cloud recognizes the importance of securing AI tools in the public and private sector and has designed its AI solutions with built-in security measures. These measures include cybersecurity models like Zero Trust architecture, encryption, and AI-powered threat detection to protect sensitive data and critical operations.

This shared responsibility prioritizes user control and data transparency. Information entered into the system will not be used to train foundation models, addressing a key privacy concern that has hindered wider adoption of this technology 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.

To learn more about how Rutgers Business School is revolutionizing curricula, research, teaching and the student experience, visit business.rutgers.edu. 

For more information about how Google Public Sector partners with educational institutions to advance learning and research, visit here.

About Rutgers Business School

Rutgers Business School – Newark and New Brunswick stands on the principles of academic excellence, cutting-edge research and public service that have defined Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey since 1766. Today, Rutgers Business School is educating more than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students on two main campuses in New Jersey. Steeped in academic excellence, with a distinguished faculty and over 60,000 successful alumni, Rutgers Business School is highly ranked by the Financial Times, U.S. News & World Report and Poets & Quants. It is recognized as the #1 public business school in the Northeast U.S. by Financial Times (MBA). It is known as having the #6 Best Online Master's in Business Programs in the nation according to U.S. News & World Report; and is part of the campus that has been ranked one of the most diverse in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, since 1997. For additional information, visit business.rutgers.edu.

SOURCE Rutgers Business School-Newark and New Brunswick