HBS Receives Major Gift For AI - Poets&Quants

Harvard Business School
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HBS Receives Major Gift For AI

Harvard Business School has received a $5 million gift to explore the implications of artificial intelligence.

Stephen A. Schwarzman, chairman, CEO, and co-founder of Blackstone, donated the money in hopes spurring the efforts of HBS faculty members who are researching and writing case studies on AI, according to a Harvard Business School press release.

“Across Blackstone’s diverse portfolio, I have seen firsthand the impact that rapid technological change has on businesses and industries,” Schwarzman says in a press release. “The disruptive implications and opportunities surrounding AI are far-reaching. Executives need to understand how to anticipate, act on, and manage these changes. I am hopeful that through these case studies—hallmarks of the HBS experience that have helped train a century of business leaders— we can better prepare the next generation to help shape the application of AI in an ethical and accountable way that benefits the public interest.”

The Impact of AI

The impact of AI is far-reaching. It has the potential to offer $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030, according to a PwC report.

To prepare for its impact, businesses need to familiarize themselves with how roles, responsibilities, and key skill sets may be affected.

“With AI taking a leading role on tackling organizations’ simple and repetitive tasks, the human workforce can focus more on complex work that ultimately provides a greater level of professional fulfilment to employees and a more efficient use of critical thinking power,” Jeff Wong, global chief innovation officer at EY, tells the MIT Technology Review.

At Harvard, the goal is to prepare students for the impact of AI.

“AI has profound implications for the future of work and for society more broadly, Harvard Business School Dean Nitin Nohria says. “We believe it is imperative to provide our students with opportunities to explore how these changes will affect the role of managers. Steve’s generous gift will accelerate faculty research in this area, advancing understanding and exposing business leaders around the world to this increasingly important topic.”

Sources: Harvard Business School, PwC, MIT Technology Review

Why B-School Is Worth It

Oprah Winfrey. Steve Jobs. Richard Branson.

What do all these people have in common? They paved their own path without going to business school.

Yet, Rhett Power, head coach at Power Coaching and Consulting, says he likes to think of them as exceptions to the rule.

In an article for Inc., Power argues that b-school is exceptionally helpful for aspiring entrepreneurs in four main ways.

Networking Skills

In b-school, it’s not really what you learn that’s crucial, but who you meet.

“Learning with a like-minded group of entrepreneurial individuals is an invaluable experience, and these peers and professors will frequently be the ones who can help you achieve your goals down the road when you’re running a business,” Power writes.

Failing Safely

Power says part of being an entrepreneur is failing. B-school provides an environment for entrepreneurs to fail without having to lose a fortune.

“Failure is something every entrepreneur experiences when starting his or her journey, but these small failures rarely make headlines,” he writes. “Consequently, our society has adopted the mistaken idea that the most successful entrepreneurs have yet to take a wrong turn.”

Technical Skills

B-school offers you the necessary foundation to bring your ideas to life.

“You’ll learn how to handle risk assessment, conduct a cost-benefit analysis, and employ management best practices that will help you become a more effective leader,” Power writes.

According to Investopedia, skills such as financial forecasting, big data analysis, and brand storytelling are all top in-demand skills employers look for in MBA grads.

Having that technical skill base of knowledge can give you a head start once you’re in the real world, Power argues.

“When you’re starting a business, you’re putting a lot on the line,” he writes. “Having a base of knowledge from business school will help ensure that your endeavor has the best chance possible of reaching its full potential.”

Making Money

Perhaps one of the most obvious aspects of gaining your MBA is the money.

But it’s not just the paychecks, Power argues.

“Before you start your own venture, you can gain important skills and credibility from working for someone else, resources that will increase in value when you decide to go it alone,” he writes.

Sources: Inc., Investopedia

To celebrate the building’s lakefront location, Kellogg’s new 415,000 square foot Global Hub pays pays homage to the environment in two ways – the curved exterior walls reflect the wave movement on the lake, while the glass reflects the blues of the water as well as the sky.

What Northwestern Kellogg Has To Offer 

Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management is well known for its marketing.

Yet, in the latest interview with Forbes, Kellogg’s director of admissions Melissa Rapp explains why the b-school has so much more to offer than just marketing.

The Global Hub

The newest symbol for a new era at Kellogg is its latest building—the Global Hub.

The flagship building took seven years of planning and $350 million to make a reality.

“It was clear from the very beginning that it was an inspiring, beautiful building and that it had been designed with spaces and places throughout the building that reflected Kellogg values, especially collaboration,” Rapp tells Forbes. “I don’t think we could have asked for anything more from a building to inspire students to choose to come here outside of class time, to choose to spend their social time here and to really take advantage of the inspiring skyline views, the abundant natural lighting and to have that calming effect of the water right outside the windows of the Hub.”

The Class of 2020

Kellogg’s class of 2020 boasts high numbers and achievements. It’s made up of 46% women and 54% men with an average GMAT score of 732. On average, students have 5.1 years of work experience under their belt and an average GPA of 3.6.

“It’s almost unfair to reduce the class to a few stats on a page,” Rapp says in a press release. “You see pretty colored graphs and numbers, but I see the woman who taught for TFA. I see the man who launched his own business and is coming to Kellogg to learn from the best how to scale it. I see the woman deeply committed to LGBTQ issues working at a CPG. And I see the financier from across the globe. The diversity of geography, gender, industry, function, background & aspiration that will walk the halls of Kellogg can’t be truly captured on one page, but the class profile does demonstrate the exceptionality and power of the class altogether.”

Perhaps what’s most striking about the class makeup is Kellogg’s focus on female representation.

The class of 2020 saw a 46% makeup of female students. In the Class of 2019, Kellogg admitted 42% women. And every class year since 2013 has had more than 40% female MBAs. Only Wharton and Harvard have kept pace within that five-year span.

“The diversity that we bring to Kellogg each and every year, in terms of gender but also across industries and backgrounds, I think it’s an important part of the culture, having that representation and diversity,” Rapp tells Poets & Quants. “I feel like we have developed a really good, holistic approach to bringing women to Kellogg and supporting them throughout their MBA journey, and then sending them out to the world to do great things. That’s definitely something that we are very proud of and continue to see as important.”

The Kellogg Experience

Kellogg has a big reputation for its marketing, but Rapp says she doesn’t want Kellogg to be put in a box.

She prefers to highlight other aspects of the Kellogg experience that are just as worthy.

“One of the beauties of Kellogg is the flexibility, to pursue your academic path and career the way that you want to,” Rapp tells Forbes. “We’ve introduced over 100 new courses since 2012 and continue to push to educate our students rounded in our core curriculum. I think that that is something that sometimes gets undersold as part of the Kellogg experience.”

Rapp believes that every student who graduates from Kellogg should have a broad base of knowledge that can be applied to any industry.

“A Kellogg graduate is able to hold their own in the discussion and then once you’ve rounded yourself in the core curriculum, you’re able to either select a major and go deep into one particular subject area,” Rapp tells Forbes. “The flexibility that comes from being able to chart your own course grounded in the confidence that comes from having that rounded education. I don’t know what you call that exactly, but I know it’s not marketing!”

Sources: Forbes, Kellogg School of Management, Poets & Quants

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