MBA-I: Capstone projects prepare students for an AI business world

2023-24 graduates faced projects centering on a very topical problem: how do companies and teams integrate artificial intelligence (AI) effectively in the workplace? Many students began the spring semester with only a vague awareness of recent generative AI technologies, such as ChatGPT.

“Coming into this, I knew just about zero,” said Jack Hussey, BBA ’23, MBA ’24. “I had dabbled in ChatGPT for things like emails and learning how to better construct sentences, but I had never known much about it. After going through this for 14 or 15 weeks, I learned a lot.”

Jumping into the challenge bestowed upon them by their company partners, students dove deep into the topic to answer questions about generative AI’s use cases, what software is on the market and the potential concerns and consequences of using the technology.

“As AI is changing how we think about work, it is essential for students to understand the fundamentals of the technology so they can form a perspective on ethical and societal impacts,” said Chris Leary, associate vice president, Sogeti USA, an IT services and consulting firm. “The students used this capstone as an opportunity to think critically about the need to balance the benefits with the potential risks of implementing AI across an organization.”

Sogeti charged Hussey's team with addressing exploratory questions and concerns the company had surrounding the new wave of AI technologies.

The overall purpose of the MBA capstone is multi-fold: showcase real-world applications of classroom learnings; create connections between students, alumni and employer partners; and illustrate how students can apply the expertise of Lindner’s research faculty to solving complex business problems.

“Having an experiential capstone as opposed to writing a thesis or a paper as a capstone, I felt that was much more beneficial,” attested Lucas Biondi, MBA ’24, who partnered with a logistics service provider for the capstone project. “Going out and networking with the company, figuring out what sort of problems they have and what sort of problems that they prioritize that they want to look at. There are more benefits to having that person-to-person interaction with experiential learning.”

The process benefits both students and the program’s company partners, like Sogeti.

“We chose to invest in this program because our company invests in local businesses, universities and people. The University of Cincinnati continues to be a pipeline of exceptional talent,” said Andy Stout, MBA ’20, director, Southwest Ohio, Sogeti USA. “Working with the MBA students has brought us a fresh, unique perspective each time we have sponsored a capstone project. I personally have been working with the UC MBA program for three years and each time I am impressed with the thoughts and ideas that the students bring to our engagement.”

With degrees in hand, students leave armed with the necessary expertise — now including generative AI — to shine on the job market and in the workplace.

“I’m about to enter the workforce, and I am prepared for how I can leverage gen AI within my work,” said Abigail Martin, MBA ‘24, who will take her newfound knowledge to L3Harris Technologies as a finance operations associate. “I was able to go through this project when I was interviewing, and my employer was definitely interested and impressed with how well I knew gen AI and how it is being utilized in all functions of business.”

Featured image at top: Left to right: Abigail Martin, MBA '24; Prathik Shivanna, MBA '24; Chris Leary, associate vice president, Sogeti USA; Andy Stout, MBA '20, director, Southwest Ohio, Sogeti USA; and Jack Hussey, BBA '23, MBA '24.