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• If they are to succeed in an AI-driven workplace, students must learn the human skills of solving problems collaboratively, meeting challenges innovatively, and making decisions ethically.
• Through the PEARL model, students work on real-world cases, develop opportunity-driven mindsets, and learn to ask critical questions about the impact of their actions.
• To integrate practical, entrepreneurial, and reflective elements into their programs, schools must rethink content, delivery, assessment, and institutional culture.

 
Business schools historically have taught students to employ analytical rigor, rely on strategic thinking, and interpret theoretical models. Students learn to memorize case studies or analyze financial ratios in a vacuum. But as artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes industries, organizations, and society, the role of business education is under urgent review.

To prepare students to navigate workplaces transformed by AI, business schools should train students to work alongside AI, leveraging its capabilities to solve problems creatively and collaboratively. Students must learn to be agile, ethically grounded, technologically literate, and deeply reflective. They must be able to understand ethical dilemmas and the systemic impacts of any decision, while drawing on diverse perspectives and interdisciplinary thinking. And because technology and industries are changing at breakneck speed, they must be prepared to continually reskill and upskill to achieve lifelong career success.

In other words, they need an education that is experiential, entrepreneurial, and self-aware. One powerful, future-facing framework for business education is the PEARL model, which delivers practical, entrepreneurial, and reflective learning. Originally designed as a pedagogical response to the limitations of traditional education, PEARL has become even more critical in a world where AI has changed the skills we need, entrepreneurial thinking is a survival strategy, and reflection is vital for ethical decision-making.

By adopting the PEARL model, business schools can align their programs with the demands of modern business, prepare students for success in a digital economy, and ready them to become leaders in a time of rapid transformation. Each of the model’s three pillars is essential for transforming business education in the context of AI and the digital economy.

Bridging Knowledge and Experience

With the first pillar, practical learning, business schools expose students to real-world problems, industry tools, and data-driven decision-making environments.

As an example, at Queen Mary University of London, I teach a digital marketing module where practical learning is essential, especially in the context of AI-driven transformation. Students in the class don’t just learn theories; they have hands-on experiences that replicate today’s marketing landscape. They use AI tools such as ChatGPT to simulate customer interactions and Tableau to visualize data.

In addition, to solve real-world problems, they work with information supplied by businesses and digital platforms, including data such as web traffic, customer interactions, and sales performance figures. Using this data, students generate insights, run A/B tests, and even build simple predictive models to forecast the success of marketing campaigns. They participate in simulated AI-integrated business scenarios where they take on challenges such as automating a customer journey using email workflows or implementing dynamic pricing strategies in a mock e-commerce setting.

Practical learning builds adaptive competence. It transforms students from passive analysts to active problem-solvers.

During the module, students also collaborate with industry partners to conduct live case studies. For instance, one group recently worked with a tech startup facing digital transformation hurdles; team members proposed an AI-supported customer acquisition plan. These immersive activities enable students to apply what they have learned in a controlled yet realistic environment—mirroring the real-world complexity of digital marketing in the age of AI.

Why it matters: Practical learning builds adaptive competence—the ability to use tools and theories in new, unfamiliar contexts. It transforms students from passive analysts to active problem-solvers.

Building Mindsets for Innovation

The PEARL model’s second pillar, entrepreneurial learning, isn’t just about teaching students to launch startups. It’s about helping them cultivate creative, opportunity-driven, and resilient mindsets.

In my Influencer Marketing module, entrepreneurial learning is embedded throughout the course structure. Students apply entrepreneurial thinking to real-world marketing challenges, integrating both design thinking and lean startup methodologies.

As one example, students might research specific companies and identify market gaps in niche communities. Then they prototype solutions, perhaps by designing digital platforms for influencer discovery or creating automation tools for campaign tracking. One group uncovered an underserved audience segment in eco-conscious fitness, which led to a highly targeted influencer strategy.

During the module, students follow a structured process: empathizing with both brands and influencers, defining pain points, ideating campaign formats, prototyping outreach strategies, and testing these strategies through A/B content simulations. Finally, they participate in simulations where they take on intrapreneurial roles within established companies.

For instance, students on one team were tasked with reimagining the influencer engagement strategy for a multinational beauty brand shifting from celebrity endorsers to micro-influencers. Their pitch was reviewed by real brand managers during an industry feedback session.

These activities build practical capability, sharpen creative problem-solving skills, and encourage students to think like digital-age innovators—precisely the goals of PEARL’s practical learning component.

Entrepreneurial learning helps students cultivate creative, opportunity-driven, and resilient mindsets.

The entrepreneurial pillar also addresses a persistent challenge of the AI age: automation anxiety. Rather than fearing job loss, students learn to ask, “How can I create new value alongside AI?”

Why it matters: Entrepreneurial learning fosters agency and innovation—key traits in a business world where competitive advantage hinges on the ability to adapt quickly and create new value propositions.

Cultivating Conscious Leaders

In a business environment shaped by algorithms, big data, and hyper-automation, reflection is not a luxury—it’s a necessity. The third pillar of PEARL, reflective learning, ensures that students pause to ask critical questions:

• What are the ethical implications of this decision?
• How has my worldview shaped my strategy?
• What assumptions underpin my analysis—and are they valid?

When AI is involved, business leaders constantly must ask themselves additional questions:

• Have I factored in the algorithmic bias inherent in my hiring tools?
• Do I understand the impact automation is having on workforce inequality?
• Am I considering the environmental footprint of the digital technologies my company is using?

Business schools can ensure that students develop reflective mindsets by encouraging them to journal, engage in Socratic dialogue, conduct post-project reflections, and examine case studies from multiple ethical frameworks.

Why it matters: Reflective learning builds moral imagination and self-awareness. It helps future leaders stay grounded, empathetic, and principled as they cultivate human-centric traits that cannot be outsourced to machines.

The PEARL Model in Action

While each pillar offers distinct benefits, transformative learning occurs when all three are integrated. Multidimensional engagement is central to how real businesses operate, and it enables students to build the competence, confidence, and character they need to lead.

Imagine how the three elements might combine in a digital marketing course: For practical learning, students use AI to analyze consumer sentiment data across platforms. For entrepreneurial learning, they pitch an innovative influencer campaign based on microsegmentation and dynamic content. And as part of reflective learning, they discuss how to identify the ethical boundaries of behavioral targeting and how to ensure transparency.

Multidimensional engagement is central to how real businesses operate, and it enables students to build the competence, confidence, and character they need to lead.

Bringing the PEARL model to life requires business schools to rethink not just content, but also delivery, assessment, and institutional culture. This means embracing shifts in three key areas:

Pedagogy. Schools must move from lectures to labs; design AI-integrated simulations; line up client-based projects; and adopt competency-based assessments, including portfolios, prototypes, and pitch decks.

Faculty roles. Each professor will transition from being “the sage on the stage” to being a facilitator and coach. To keep up with business trends, faculty members should collaborate with outside stakeholders, including local businesses, AI startups, and policy think tanks. Instructors should take the opportunity to model lifelong learning by engaging in continual professional development.

Institutional support. It will be important for schools to develop innovation hubs and AI studios that enable student experimentation. Schools also can promote student learning by encouraging interdisciplinary collaborations that blend technology, ethics, strategy, and design elements. Finally, schools will spark pedagogical innovation if they recognize it and reward it in their key performance indicators for faculty.

Why PEARL Is Critical Now

The PEARL model will help create leaders who can seamlessly combine human judgment with machine intelligence, while remaining grounded in critical thinking, empathy, and ethical awareness. These leaders will be able to drive entrepreneurial change across systems as they align business goals with societal needs and long-term sustainability.

The metaphor of a pearl is intentional. A pearl forms as a response to irritation, transforming difficulty into beauty. Likewise, PEARL encourages learners to face complexity, show initiative, and grow through reflection. It turns rough, raw experiences into wisdom.

In an era when AI can write memos, predict trends, and even evaluate performance, what distinguishes human managers is the fact that they can apply the tools of creativity and ethical behavior to serve broader goals. These future leaders require an educational experience that is not simply a passive journey from A to B—it is an unfolding spiral of discovery, challenge, creativity, and insight.

The PEARL model invites us to rethink not just what we learn, but how and why we learn. And in doing so, it just might help us craft a more purposeful, resilient, and compassionate world.