Bridging the AI Skills Gap: How Academia and Industry are Collaborating to Prepare the Next Generation
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the global workforce, creating both opportunities and challenges. As AI-powered systems become increasingly sophisticated, they are not only automating existing tasks but also demanding new skillsets from employees. This necessitates a concerted effort from both corporations and educational institutions to address the widening skills gap and ensure that current and future generations are equipped to thrive in the AI-driven economy. While businesses focus on reskilling their existing workforce, universities and colleges are playing a crucial role in developing and delivering courses that empower students with the skills needed to succeed in this evolving landscape.
A recent World Economic Forum survey highlighted the growing importance of cognitive skills, such as creative thinking, analytical thinking, and technology literacy, predicting these to be the most sought-after employee attributes by 2027. These skills are essential for navigating the complexities of an AI-augmented world, enabling individuals to effectively leverage technology, solve complex problems, and innovate in their respective fields. This underscores the importance of collaboration between academia and industry to rapidly equip students with these crucial skills. SAP, a global leader in enterprise software, has been at the forefront of this collaborative effort through its University Alliances program, partnering with over 2,800 educational institutions worldwide for the past 25 years to cultivate tomorrow’s talent.
One such partnership is with HEC Montréal, a renowned business school with a long history of developing cutting-edge learning methodologies to impart SAP skills to its students. Two decades ago, HEC Montréal pioneered ERPsim, an innovative educational tool that immerses students in realistic business scenarios within the SAP environment. Today, approximately 30,000 students annually benefit from this immersive learning experience. Building on this success, HEC Montréal and SAP have once again joined forces to create Business Builders, a next-generation gamified learning platform designed to equip students with the skills necessary to thrive in a data-driven world.
Business Builders: Gamified Learning for the Age of AI
Business Builders utilizes gamification to engage students in developing STEM skills, honing their analytical, critical, and creative thinking abilities using SAP Analytics Cloud. This innovative approach addresses the challenges posed by the rise of generative AI tools like ChatGPT, which can sometimes hinder the development of essential data analysis and literacy skills by allowing students to bypass the learning process. Business Builders provides a structured learning environment where students must actively engage with data, apply visualization techniques, and make informed decisions based on their analysis.
The game can be adapted to various teaching formats, accommodating both face-to-face and virtual learning environments, as well as synchronous and asynchronous sessions. Students are presented with realistic business scenarios and assigned roles such as marketing or product researchers, financial analysts, or supply chain analysts. Through a series of increasingly challenging stages, they must answer business questions by analyzing vast synthetic data sets using SAP Analytics Cloud, fostering authentic decision-making experiences. The use of synthetic data provides an ideal balance between realism and pedagogical effectiveness, allowing educators to create scenarios that closely mirror real-world complexities without overwhelming students with extraneous information.
Currently, Business Builders offers three distinct game scenarios, each focusing on a contemporary business challenge: environmental, social, and governance; supply chain resilience; and international expansion. The most popular scenario to date revolves around supply chain resilience, simulating a real-world problem of a Panama Canal closure due to climate change. Students must devise strategies to reroute shipments and prioritize products to minimize the disruption to holiday gift deliveries from Southeast Asia to the United States. This practical application of data analytics skills in a simulated crisis reinforces the relevance and importance of data-driven decision-making in today’s interconnected world.
Empowering Students, Educators, and Employers
Business Builders offers a valuable solution for educators grappling with the evolving pedagogical landscape shaped by generative AI. The gamified approach fosters engagement and encourages students to actively apply their analytical and mathematical skills in a dynamic and competitive environment. By leveraging SAP Analytics Cloud, students gain hands-on experience with industry-leading technology, developing practical skills highly valued by employers. Moreover, the platform is free of charge for both educators and students, promoting accessibility and widespread adoption.
To support educators in utilizing Business Builders effectively, tailored training materials are provided, guiding students through the game scenarios and optimizing the learning experience. These resources help lecturers ensure that students not only acquire technical skills but also develop a deeper understanding of how data insights are generated and utilized for informed decision-making. Since its launch in July 2024, Business Builders has witnessed rapid adoption, with over 300 educational institutions registering for access and an estimated 2,500 students projected to utilize the platform by the end of the year.
In an era of accelerating technological advancements, collaborations like the one between SAP and HEC Montréal are crucial for bridging the skills gap and preparing the next generation for the challenges and opportunities of the AI-driven economy. Business Builders exemplifies the power of innovative learning approaches and industry-academia partnerships in equipping students with the skills they need to become data-savvy professionals and future business leaders. The accessibility and effectiveness of this platform demonstrate a commitment to fostering data literacy and ensuring that students are empowered to thrive in the rapidly evolving world of work.
