ROUNDTABLE REVIEW
for us, as a university, to reach executive participants as part of our objective of upskilling and reskilling our society, because they are better able to come back to being a student. However, it’s also more challenging in terms of evaluating the learning within those programmes. So, it gives us a lot of flexibility, but at the same time, we need to be strict about how we measure participant outcomes.” In the context of technology, how much importance should we place in personalising the learning experience? Carmen Paz-Aparicio: “We are aware that students need to be engaged and if it is already difficult to do that in a class, it’s even harder when you don’t see them in person. We are talking here in person and our conversation may be more fluent than if we were meeting online. This is a challenge and what we try to do is make the teaching more personalised. For example, we usually avoid teaching large numbers and use small groups in all our programmes. We also try to ensure that we know exactly what students are learning from our lectures and classes, by engaging them and making them participate in discussions. “Technology accompanies lifelong learning in its delivery and quality control. It allows for personalised learning through the implementation of digital tools and ensures individual assessment by producing individualised exams and invigilation practices.” José Crespo de Carvalho: “It’s extremely important to engage students and participants with this new perspective of technology and the introduction of online or hybrid classes. How can you engage people if some of them turn off their cameras? It’s very difficult for the professor and the teaching process. It’s also very difficult to evaluate their learning. “At the level of executive education, it’s also more difficult to engage some cultures than others. For example, you tend to get lots of participant participation, questions and so on from students from Brazil, but this is often not the case among students from China.”
executive education programmes, therefore, participants can choose from a set of transversal skill labs, no matter what the topic of the master’s or the programme is. It’s our responsibility to teach people to use technology responsibly, critically and with full consideration of the human side. This is the only way to have effective interaction with agentic AI systems, because at the end of the day, every one of us will need to deal with them.” José Crespo de Carvalho: “I would say that we try to combine these three formats – in-person, hybrid and online – and to maintain two important things: the final experience for participants and the impact.” Michele Quintano: “Something else that I think is critical in this context is the cross-cultural aspect. We are all international schools, so we absolutely need to understand the dynamics that we can have in our classrooms and ensure everybody understands the perspectives of others, whether these relate to differences in culture, religion, or other elements of diversity.” Carmen Paz-Aparicio: “For me, executive education 4.0 has a good side and a challenging side. The good side is that it’s easier
Which emerging technologies, such as AI, VR and adaptive learning, are you most excited about?
João Pinto: “There are three areas where we currently see real potential. The first is around AI co-pilots and adaptive learning. At the university level, we are currently testing adaptive learning solutions through our Católica Learning Innovation Lab to see how models of gamification and storytelling can fit inside our programmes. “Another area is AI’s applications around feedback and tutoring, where we are using the learning management system, Blackboard Ultra. Through these kinds of tools, students can interact with AI tutors and faculty can access information
Ambition • ISSUE 5 • 2025 21
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