INTERVIEW WITH THE DEAN
rather than to establish a single technological partnership. “We use different AI platforms not only in the classroom but also to help people find the right combination inside the curriculum,” Tran highlights. A faculty training programme around AI, meanwhile, was launched in the summer in collaboration with Obea, a specialised consultant agency. “The goal of this training is to learn how to use AI and be sensitive to issues of ethics when using different platforms,” details Tran. While the course will not be mandatory at first, it will be used as part of the onboarding process for all new hires. “We will go step by step, but we want to spread knowledge of the different AI tools among the entire Audencia community, not only faculty members but also staff members, because these tools can be of great use if you are working in marketing and communications, for example.” Speaking more specifically about some of AI’s ethical concerns, Tran highlights the need to raise awareness about the technology’s environmental impact. There is still much to learn about the effects of AI in this respect, but there are already serious concerns about the scale of electricity and water
reason, the Audencia dean shares, is the difficulty in determining the direction of travel in a tempestuous landscape. “Perhaps you decide to invest in ChatGPT today, but then tomorrow it becomes clear that DeepSeek would be the best,” he hypothesises. In France, some business schools, including Neoma, Essec and Emlyon, have joined forces with Mistral AI, a start-up headquartered in Paris. “I would like that to be a good solution, because it’s a European and French solution, but you don’t know if Mistral AI will have the capacity to continue to innovate in 12 to 18 months,” Tran reflects. “It depends on the money raised by the company, because it’s a huge investment to develop artificial intelligence.” With this in mind, Audencia is pursuing a process of continued experimentation around AI. This entails working on a mix of tools for specific purposes, some of which have been developed in-house and some of which are in partnership with external organisations. Personalising the experience One of the school’s tailor-made tools is an AI agent designed to help students discover and better navigate
consumed by data centres housing AI servers, as well as their use of critical minerals and rare elements that are often mined
their options at the school, in terms of pathways, courses and other available activities. The tool also features a personality quiz that aims to offer personalised recommendations based on an individual’s outlook and ambitions,
unsustainably. “We need to sensitise our students to the CO2 emissions,” reflects Tran, “but it’s difficult to educate students [on this topic] because it has become a natural tool for them in their lives.” As with its approach to international partnerships, there is agility in Audencia’s approach to AI and a recognition that the school must continue learning as it delves deeper into the possibilities presented by new technologies. In this, accreditation services such as those provided by AMBA & BGA offer vital points of reflection that assist with continuous improvement. As the Audencia dean notes: “It’s important to have feedback from our peers because we are engaged in a lot of projects and it’s always useful to take the time to pause and think about how we can improve our processes and define the next step of the strategy.”
Students at Audencia’s Atlantic Campus in Nantes (left); the school’s collaborative campus in Shenzhen, China
from programme options, international exchanges and extracurricular activities all the way through to careers with which they might best align. The quiz’s 25 questions draw on a combination of the Big Five model of personality traits and ikigai , the Japanese philosophy of purpose and personal development. “At the end of the survey, you receive some examples of [the paths taken by] alumni. It can be a good way to illustrate different possibilities because students have a lot of different options and sometimes, they can feel lost,” Tran infers. Using AI in this way reinforces the school’s policy of drawing from multiple sources to test and learn more about how AI can enhance the student experience,
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Business Impact • ISSUE 5 • 2025
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