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HKUST MBA SUNDIAL |
MBA ACADEMIC
Introducing Our New AI Elective with Microsoft
Introducing Our New AI Elective with Microsoft
We all know that artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the game, yet how many of us are confident in applying AI to our work? To unlock the business potential of AI and equip business leaders for the 4th Industrial Revolution, we have partnered with Microsoft Hong Kong to offer the first AI-centric MBA elective in the city — “Transforming Business with Artificial Intelligence”.
Launched this spring for our MBA students, the AI curriculum is part of Microsoft’s Global AI Business School initiative, designed in partnership with INSEAD and provides the latest thinking on AI transformation in business. Business leaders from local enterprises and organizations can also access the AI curriculum by joining the open executive education program provided by HKUST soon to get ready for the AI future.
The MBA elective was taught by Dr. Jiying Wang from the Department of Information Systems, Business Statistics and Operations Management who has over 15 years of experience in data mining, machine learning, business intelligence and data analytics.
Each week, Dr. Wang focused on the application of AI in a specific business function, including financial services, human resource management, sales and marketing, customer services and supply chain management. Through lectures and experiments using real-world data sets on Azure — Microsoft’s cloud computing platform — the class learnt advanced technology concepts such as anomaly detection, association rules, collaborative filtering, natural language processing, chatbots, computer vision and deep learning.
“It is definitely one of my favorite courses in the MBA program.”
Launched this spring for our MBA students, the AI curriculum is part of Microsoft’s Global AI Business School initiative, designed in partnership with INSEAD and provides the latest thinking on AI transformation in business. Business leaders from local enterprises and organizations can also access the AI curriculum by joining the open executive education program provided by HKUST soon to get ready for the AI future.
The MBA elective was taught by Dr. Jiying Wang from the Department of Information Systems, Business Statistics and Operations Management who has over 15 years of experience in data mining, machine learning, business intelligence and data analytics.
Each week, Dr. Wang focused on the application of AI in a specific business function, including financial services, human resource management, sales and marketing, customer services and supply chain management. Through lectures and experiments using real-world data sets on Azure — Microsoft’s cloud computing platform — the class learnt advanced technology concepts such as anomaly detection, association rules, collaborative filtering, natural language processing, chatbots, computer vision and deep learning.
“It is definitely one of my favorite courses in the MBA program.”
To bridge the gap between business applications and technical knowhow, the course also delved into recent reports from McKinsey, Deloitte, IBM, HKMA and AI user cases such as remote client on-boarding in virtual banks, AI-based employee retention, and cashier-free stores.
At the same time, guest speakers from different departments at Microsoft Hong Kong shared their experience with AI applications in diverse functions, including Vyin Ng, Director of Finance; Kenneth Yiu, Director of Enterprise Services; and Henry Li, Director of Specialist Sales.
As a culmination of their learning experience, in the final class, students had to present a business plan in value creation with AI technology for a variety of fields and industries, including international trade finance, usage-based car insurance, treatment discovery in healthcare, energy and oil, and electric vehicles. Representatives from Microsoft Hong Kong served as panel judges to review their plans and provide feedback.
Thanks to the contribution from Microsoft Hong Kong, the course has proved to be highly practical and relevant for students to lead AI transformations in their future careers.
"It is definitely one of my favorite courses in the MBA program. I have not only learnt how to use Azure to analyze real-world business data sets but also acquired a lot of inspirations from the guest lectures delivered by the Microsoft Hong Kong executives," said Wendy Sham (Part-time MBA Class of 2020).
“The course has made me familiar with Microsoft Azure and let me explore the latest AI user cases across different industries. It was also most interesting to get an insider view from the Microsoft Hong Kong executives,” said Carmine Molinaro (Full-Time MBA Class of 2021).
At the same time, guest speakers from different departments at Microsoft Hong Kong shared their experience with AI applications in diverse functions, including Vyin Ng, Director of Finance; Kenneth Yiu, Director of Enterprise Services; and Henry Li, Director of Specialist Sales.
As a culmination of their learning experience, in the final class, students had to present a business plan in value creation with AI technology for a variety of fields and industries, including international trade finance, usage-based car insurance, treatment discovery in healthcare, energy and oil, and electric vehicles. Representatives from Microsoft Hong Kong served as panel judges to review their plans and provide feedback.
Thanks to the contribution from Microsoft Hong Kong, the course has proved to be highly practical and relevant for students to lead AI transformations in their future careers.
"It is definitely one of my favorite courses in the MBA program. I have not only learnt how to use Azure to analyze real-world business data sets but also acquired a lot of inspirations from the guest lectures delivered by the Microsoft Hong Kong executives," said Wendy Sham (Part-time MBA Class of 2020).
“The course has made me familiar with Microsoft Azure and let me explore the latest AI user cases across different industries. It was also most interesting to get an insider view from the Microsoft Hong Kong executives,” said Carmine Molinaro (Full-Time MBA Class of 2021).
Examples of Guest Speakers from Microsoft Hong Kong
Emily Ma, Academic Team
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