Last week, Salford Business School’s Dr Yun Chen and Professor Marie Griffiths headed to Bournemouth for the ‘Sustainable Development in Business Education Symposium’. The event was buzzing with energy, with academia from 15 countries all diving into sustainability in higher education (HE) from different angles.
Highlights from the event
The event started with an interesting keynote on embedding sustainability in HE, showcasing innovative ways to shape our future through education. The research team highlighted the use of the Triple Helix Model to effectively integrate education for sustainable development (ESD) into UK business school curricula. The study employed secondary data alongside statistical, content, and narrative analysis, presenting universities as experiential learning spaces (living labs and innovation hubs), where sustainable practices can thrive.
The discussion also emphasised addressing the climate and ecological crisis, and aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), currently a key focus here at Salford Business School.
The message is crystal clear: embedding sustainability into education today is essential for shaping a sustainable future. This principle sat at the heart of Yun and Marie’s presentation at the symposium, during which they highlighted how the SDGs are integrated into the school’s brand new MSc in Managing AI in Business.
Managing AI in business
During the presentation, Yun and Marie discussed the strategic planning and designing of the programme, emphasising good practices for sustainability and engagement, while aiming to contribute to the discourse on effective AI (artificial intelligence) business education at the postgraduate level. They offered insights into programme development practices, including curriculum development, faculty training, and innovative teaching methodologies. The primary goal was to empower staff to ensure consistent and sustainable advancements within the AI field, while minimising content redundancy.
Moreover, they presented early findings from the school’s Teaching Innovation Project, funded by the UKAIS (UK Academy for Information Systems) Teaching Award. The project commenced in November and is due to finish this April. This research explores innovative approaches to assessment and prioritises student wellbeing, reflecting our commitment to a holistic and sustainable-thinking approach to education.
The presentation was well-received by the audience, sparking insightful discussions and facilitating valuable knowledge sharing around similar initiatives in programme and module design across various subject areas.
Embedding the SDGs into our curriculum
To align with SDGs, we have embedded critical sustainability and ethical considerations into our programme’s curriculum, teaching strategies and assessments. The curriculum covers concepts such as AI and its applications in the circular economy, addressing the environmental impact of these technologies, while exploring how they can contribute to sustainable development.
We also teach the key principles of fairness, bias mitigation, transparency and ethical frameworks in AI, ensuring a deep understanding of how AI can be applied responsibly to tackle global challenges is developed.
Collaboration with industry partners further enriches the learning experience, by providing live projects and case studies, offering opportunities to work on initiatives that directly address sustainable business practices and AI’s potential in fostering positive change.