Generative AI for Business Consulting Mission: The new academy for HEC Paris students
As artificial intelligence has a growing impact on society and business, higher education innovates to prepare the leaders of tomorrow. HEC Paris, in partnership with Capgemini Invent has launched the Generative AI for Business Consulting Mission, a seminar, also called ‘academy’, immersing students in the current challenges of generative AI (GenAI) in consultancy.
Empowering Students to Address Business Transformation
This year, HEC Paris has once again taken a bold stance in addressing contemporary societal and managerial transformations. Since the start of the year, the institution has welcomed six new academies, one of which is the Generative AI for Business Consulting Mission. This initiative aims to allow Master 1 Grande École students to broaden their horizons, with a formula that extends beyond academic concepts to explore AI’s role in business transformation.
Julien Lévy, Scientific Director at the HEC Paris Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute and Director of the AI activities at HEC Paris, designed this academy to ensure students would master the application of generative AI in professional settings. Built on a long-lasting partnership with Capgemini Invent, the academy introduces students to a universe of expertise and explores impact and practical application of artificial intelligence in the consulting field.
« The program stems from a long-standing partnership, which has been highly appreciated by students due to the strong involvement of their teams. Capgemini not only introduces students to the world of consulting but also brings valuable expertise. »
- Julien Lévy, Scientific Director at the HEC Paris Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute
A Curriculum at the Heart of Societal Challenges and Innovation
Rather than supplanting consultants, artificial intelligence holds the promise of redefining their roles. According to Julien Lévy, the main challenge is achieving complementarity between humans and machines, a vision anticipated by JCR Licklider in 1960. Generative AI is set to significantly enhance consultants' capacity to produce high-value insights while increasing productivity.
One of the anticipated transformative shifts is the rise of AI agents performing tasks aligned with specific objectives, thereby redefining the consultant's function. Today's HEC Paris graduates are stepping into a rapidly evolving job market, which demands a fresh set of skills tailored to this new digital era.
Who better than Capgemini Invent - the digital innovation, consulting and transformation brand of the Capgemini Group - to invigorate the curriculum? Indeed, the program upholds HEC Paris’ commitment to the “Learning By Doing” principle, offering an immersive and hands-on training experience.
Students engage in a consulting mission based on a real-world generative AI case developed in collaboration with Capgemini experts. This level of practical immersion empowers them to cultivate essential skills in digital strategy and strategic analysis, equipping them to tackle complex problems and seamlessly integrate AI within a business context.
« This Academy allowed us to spend a unique and privileged time with the students to discuss our approach to Data & AI consulting, pass on concrete workshop techniques and address the interrogations and concerns about the impact of AI on consulting careers. »
- Simon Gosset, Director of Strategy, Data & IA at Capgemini Invent
Generative AI for Business Consulting Mission
A Program Built on Four Core Competencies
This three-week long academy is crafted to equip students with skills that set them apart as "augmented managers". It begins with a week of courses on foundational knowledge and tools, followed by a business brief which involves the integration of AI into business operations. Throughout the academy, students will develop many key skills, including:
- Understanding AI Fundamentals: Students learn to grasp what AI is and how it operates, which is instrumental for strategic application.
- Mastering Tools: The academy emphasizes the practice of generative AI technologies, making students proficient in using advanced tools.
- Contextual Analysis: Students are trained to assess a problem, translate it into actionable questions, and evaluate possible solutions.
- Capability Integration: Participants are going beyond tools to learn how to animate, integrate, and embed AI capabilities into behaviors and organizational processes.
« Throughout these three weeks, we very much enjoyed help the students gradually grasp at the core principles of our work: understanding a business, its current processes and pain points to identify relevant and value-driven applications of Generative AI. »
- Simon Gosset, Director of Strategy, Data & IA at Capgemini Invent
The Business Case: A Practical Approach for AI integration
In this inaugural edition of the program, the practical case was provided by the asset management company Mandarine Gestion, where students explored how generative AI could automate parts of portfolio management processes. Over three weeks, the students’ remarkable achievements demonstrated AI’s transformative potential, validating its added value in enhancing productivity and value creation for asset managers.
« Generative artificial intelligence opens promising perspectives for asset management, and this collaboration has allowed us to explore innovative use cases with the talents of tomorrow. At Mandarine Gestion, we firmly believe that well-integrated AI can enhance our investment processes and provide real added value to all of our teams. This project illustrates our commitment to innovation, as well as our desire to support young talents in their learning and growth. »
- Dan Sayag, CEO at Mandarine Gestion.
During the academy, around 40 enthusiastic students participated in a variety of workshops, exploring topics such as AI agents and the art of prompting, all while honing their skills in pitching before clients. They also engaged in enriching exchanges with stakeholders, gaining invaluable insights into the business brief and aligning their efforts with the company's needs.
On the final day of the curriculum, students will present their solutions before a distinguished jury comprised of Mandarine Gestion executives, experts from Capgemini, and the three professors making the program: Julien Lévy, Franck Touboul, and Jean-Rémi Gratadour.
« We were thus very much impressed by the final projects presented by the different teams as they demonstrated the efforts made to apprehend the job of a portfolio manager at Mandarine Gestion and suggest evolved and well thought out solutions to improve current ways of working or propose innovative ones thanks to Generative AI. »
- Simon Gosset, Director of Strategy, Data & IA at Capgemini Invent
This new academy perfectly fits with the HEC Paris Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute ambition, acting as a fertile ground to cultivate an entrepreneurial spirit and prepares students to become the next leaders who will transform traditional business practices, develop new business models, and so, shape the business of tomorrow. Learning to dare in an ever-changing environment, to empower them in “making it happen, making it big” !