NUS Business School has begun piloting an AI-enabled approach to management education, utilizing a generative AI platform developed by the NUS AI Centre for Educational Technologies. This platform, known as ScholAIstic, supports role-playing and simulation-based learning. The tool has been used by nearly 100 MBA and Executive MBA students across Singapore and Jakarta, many of whom are senior executives. The simulation presents students with an AI-simulated problem, requiring them to determine the necessary information, decide whom to ask, evaluate the answers received, and make a recommendation under uncertainty.
The AI-simulated tool allows students to interview AI-simulated executives, including a Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Product and Technology Officer, each offering a different perspective on the same business situation. Students must navigate these perspectives, assess the information gathered, and reach their own conclusions. After each interview, students receive personalized feedback on their questioning, enabling them to reflect and adapt their approach in subsequent interviews. This approach aims to sharpen the human instinct behind good decisions, rather than replacing it with AI.
According to Dr. Emir Hrnjić, a Senior Lecturer in Finance at NUS Business School, the goal is to help students become more discerning about what to ask and trust. The aim is not to replace human instinct with AI but to sharpen it by helping students ask the right questions and exercise judgement without having the complete picture. Early findings suggest that effective use of AI is not about asking more questions but about asking the right ones. Analysis of interview transcripts showed that stronger interviews had more targeted questions, follow-ups, and adaptation as new information emerged.
The findings point to a broader role for generative AI in management education, recreating real-world scenarios and sharpening executives' judgement to better navigate uncertainty and competing perspectives. NUS Business School sees potential for similar AI-simulated tools to be applied to other areas of business education where students need to question stakeholders, negotiate competing interests, and make decisions under uncertainty. The ambition is to move beyond the largely static information environment of the traditional case towards a dynamic one where students actively acquire information and exercise judgement as the problem unfolds.
The simulation is part of NUS Business School's broader approach to integrating AI into education, exploring how AI can enhance meaningful learning and help students develop judgement, critical thinking, and adaptability. This becomes increasingly important as AI takes on a greater role in business, with companies across Asia, including Indonesia, rapidly adopting AI across their operations. The ability to question and assess AI-generated information is an increasingly important leadership skill, particularly in Indonesia, where AI could contribute significantly to the country's GDP by 2030.
A 2020 study by Kearney and EDBI projected that AI could contribute US$366 billion to Indonesia's GDP by 2030, equivalent to 12 per cent of projected GDP. As AI becomes more prevalent in the workplace, NUS Business School's focus on integrating AI into education will help students develop the necessary skills to navigate an increasingly AI-enabled workplace. The school's approach to education, research, and entrepreneurship is focused on Asian perspectives and expertise, with a global approach to education.
The National University of Singapore, Singapore's flagship university, offers a global approach to education, research, and entrepreneurship, with a focus on Asian perspectives and expertise. With 15 colleges, faculties, and schools across three campuses in Singapore, the university has more than 40,000 students from 100 countries. NUS has established around 15 NUS Overseas Colleges entrepreneurial hubs around the world, and its multidisciplinary approach enables collaboration with industry, governments, and academia to address crucial and complex issues relevant to Asia and the world.
Key points
- NUS Business School introduces AI-simulated tool to sharpen judgement in leaders
- The tool has been used by nearly 100 MBA and Executive MBA students across Singapore and Jakarta
- AI could contribute US$366 billion to Indonesia's GDP by 2030, equivalent to 12 per cent of projected GDP
