At NC State University’s Poole College of Management, innovation is more than a buzzword – it’s a guiding principle. The college’s three-credit course, Artificial Intelligence in Management (ITAO 558), exemplifies this commitment by preparing graduate students to lead confidently in an AI-driven economy.

Offered online and available to Jenkins MBA, Master of Management, Marketing Analytics (MMA), Master of Management, Risk and Analytics (MRA) and Master of Accounting (MAC) students – as well as those pursuing Poole’s new Business AI Graduate Certificate – the course bridges academic rigor with real-world application. It’s one of several initiatives demonstrating how Poole is future-proofing its curriculum to meet the evolving needs of industry and equip students with high-demand, highly transferable skills.

Responding to Market Demand for AI Fluency

“Artificial intelligence is everywhere – and it’s creating real value for businesses,” says Haroon Abbu, Professor of Practice and senior vice president of Digital Technology & Data Analytics at Bell & Howell, who developed and teaches the course. “Companies like Citi, Accenture and Chase are retraining their workforces on AI tools. For today’s students, being ‘AI-ready’ is essential to future-proof their careers.”

ITAO 558 originated in 2021 as a one-credit elective, but overwhelming student demand led to its expansion into a full three-credit course. The result: a deeper, more interactive learning experience that helps professionals not just understand AI, but use it responsibly and strategically.

“For today’s students, being ‘AI-ready’ is essential to future-proof their careers.”

Inside the Course: Hands-On, Industry-Relevant Learning

Abbu’s practitioner perspective is central to the course design. As a seasoned industry executive, he ensures that lessons mirror current business realities. Students learn both theoretical frameworks and practical skills – exploring how AI is transforming supply chain management, HR, innovation, marketing and project management.

Course modules cover:

• Understanding AI terminology and applications in business
• Hands-on use cases across industries
• Leveraging AI tools for data-driven decision-making
• Presenting AI insights to diverse stakeholders
• Addressing AI ethics and mitigating bias

Students also engage directly with industry experts – connecting classroom concepts to real-world practices. “Our mission at Poole is to bring industry and academia closer together,” Abbu says. “We want students learning the practical skills that today’s evolving jobs require.”

Jenkins MBA student and current project manager at Caidya, Natalie Negron, is currently enrolled in ITAO 558 and already sees its impact.

“Professor Abbu equips us with the knowledge to stay ahead of the curve and drive real organizational impact.”

“This course has been transformative – opening my eyes to the strategic applications of AI beyond the surface-level understanding most people have. Professor Abbu teaches complex concepts in an accessible way that’s directly applicable to management and leadership roles,” Negron explains. “I’ve already implemented learnings from the class at work – for instance, after learning to build custom GPTs, I identified opportunities for my company to leverage this technology in areas like HR. In a workforce increasingly shaped by AI, Professor Abbu equips us with the knowledge to stay ahead of the curve and drive real organizational impact.”

From Theory to Application

Each semester, students complete a capstone project – developing an AI roadmap for a company within an industry of their choice. They analyze AI leaders and laggards, identify AI opportunities and create an AI roadmap connecting vision, strategy, implementation and value creation. 

Smaller projects build critical thinking and technical literacy. In one assignment, students use Google’s Teachable Machine to train a computer vision model to detect patterns in images, such as identifying cancerous cells in MRI scans. In another, they develop their own custom GPTs to solve business problems, from career exploration to customer engagement.

Students like Kyle Harner, who took the course in the spring of 2025 as an elective in the Jenkins MBA program, found the course to be a great introduction to the world of AI and business.

“Since completing this class, I am much more comfortable with discussing the implications of AI and using LLMs as a part of my workflow.”

“Professor Abbu used the course to expose his students to a broad array of AI applications, ranging from large language models (LLMs) to computer vision and beyond. Using computer vision, I created an algorithm to predict the difference between normal hand x-rays and hand x-rays that show rheumatoid arthritis,” says Harner, who is the owner and managing partner of Carolina Arthritis Center in Greenville, N.C., as well as chief medical officer for virtual rheumatology start-up Remission Medical. “Since completing this class, I am much more comfortable with discussing the implications of AI and using LLMs as a part of my workflow.”

Abbu’s students also examine AI ethics, comparing their own reflections on real-world bias cases – like gender disparities in credit approvals – with AI-generated analyses. This exercise, he explains, “helps students think critically about what AI gets right, what it misses and how we can design systems that are more fair and transparent.”

Evolving with the Technology

AI evolves regularly – and so does the course. “I don’t rely on a fixed textbook,” Abbu says. “I update lectures each semester with the latest use cases, research and technologies. When ChatGPT emerged in 2022, I rewrote the syllabus mid-semester. Now, I’ve added a new chapter on agentic AI.”

That adaptability keeps Poole students on the cutting edge of business innovation. The course’s interdisciplinary structure – open across graduate programs – underscores Poole’s belief that AI literacy is fundamental for all business leaders.

Shaping Ethical, Data-Driven Leaders

Ultimately, ITAO 558 embodies Poole College’s broader mission: to prepare ethical, forward-thinking leaders who can integrate technology responsibly into business decision-making. As AI continues to reshape industries, Poole is ensuring its graduates aren’t just keeping pace – they’re leading the way.

“Poole College is deliberately building AI fluency into our curriculum so graduates can harness AI responsibly and strategically from day one in industry,” says Vikas Anand, associate dean for academic programs. “ITAO 558 is a cornerstone of that effort – hands-on, industry-aligned training that helps our students lead and create real business value in the world of tomorrow. It is consistent with our approach to building meaningful High Impact Experiences in the curriculum.”

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