How London Business School’s New 1-Year MBA Is A Testing Ground For AI-First Business Education

Generative AI isn’t just transforming the business world — it’s reshaping how business schools train future leaders. At London Business School, that transformation is happening fast.

“We’re embedding AI in three dimensions,” says Professor Nicos Savva, who teaches Management Science and Operations and helped lead the design of LBS’s new one-year MBA program, which welcomes its first cohort in August. “We’re building dedicated courses. We’re integrating AI into traditional subjects. And we’re using AI to improve how we teach.”

The result: one of the most AI-forward MBA programs in the world.

A PROGRAM BUILT FOR AN AI-DRIVEN WORLD

Launched for students with a prior Master in Management from LBS or another accredited institution, the one-year MBA is an accelerated, highly customizable business degree. And thanks to its clean-slate design, it has also become a testing ground for what a 21st-century MBA can — and should — look like.

That begins with the pre-course phase. Savva explains that students take a module on data analytics using generative AI, replacing older tools like Excel with platforms like ChatGPT. “It’s not about teaching code,” he tells Poets&Quants. “It’s about teaching students how to think with AI.”

Then comes the core: foundational business courses revamped to reflect AI’s role in transforming functions like strategy, marketing, and operations. LBS faculty are redesigning cases, updating lectures, and introducing new frameworks that reflect the reality of algorithmic decision-making and digital disruption.

From there, students can personalize their journey through a wide range of electives, including a new concentration in Analytics, Digital Technology and AI. These courses explore everything from predictive modeling to the strategic implications of automation — skills increasingly essential for leadership in any industry.

AI IS NOT JUST A TOPIC. IT’S THE MEDIUM

LBS isn’t just teaching AI. It’s also using AI to teach better.

Savva has developed a custom AI assistant — what he calls a “copilot” — for his own course, trained on his materials and lectures. The chatbot answers student questions, clarifies concepts, and even pulls up examples from his past classes. “It’s not quite in my voice,” he jokes, “but it knows how I think.”

The school is working to make this standard across all courses. “If a course has a Canvas page,” Savva says, referring to the school’s learning platform, “it should have a copilot.”

Another project underway: an AI-based tool that helps students choose electives. Instead of navigating a long course catalog — there are more than 80 electives to choose from — students describe their interests, goals, and background and receive personalized recommendations, including unexpected but relevant options. “It’s like a conversation,” Savva says. “We want to meet students where they are.”

A BROADER PHILOSOPHY OF LIFELONG LEARNING

The AI integration goes beyond the one-year MBA. It’s part of a broader shift in how LBS is thinking about management education in an age of rapid change.

“Technology moves fast, and careers evolve with it,” says Savva, a 2019 Poets&Quants 40-under-40 honoree. “We’re building not just programs, but lifelong learning platforms.” Through LBS Digital, alumni can access new courses and refresh their skills long after graduation.

It’s a natural extension of LBS’s ecosystem approach, which brings research, real-world relevance, and alumni back into the classroom. Savva regularly invites former students — now AI leaders at major firms like Google and investment banks — to share war stories with current cohorts. In some cases, they even co-teach.

“I tell them: no theory, just stories,” Savva says. “What worked. What failed. What you wish you’d known.”

WHY LBS? IT’S NOT JUST THE TOOLS

Despite the school’s tech-forward posture, Savva is quick to emphasize that great teaching tools aren’t the reason to choose LBS.

“The reason people come here isn’t because our copilot is better,” he says. “It’s because we have world-class faculty, intellectually curious students, and a culture that prioritizes relevance and impact.”

Still, the school’s early AI adoption is no accident.

“We move fast because we care about giving students what they need now,” Savva says. “And right now, that means understanding AI — not just as a technology, but as a force that will shape the future of every business.”

To find out more about LBS’s One-year MBA, watch this webinar with Helen Foley (MBA Program Director) and Emily Carney (One-year MBA Launch Director).

DON’T MISS LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL, EYEING NEW MARKETS, LAUNCHES 1-YEAR MBA PROGRAM