These are the five things to know before you apply for a Master of AI in Business education:
- The Master of Artificial Intelligence in Business (MAIB) program at S P Jain School of
Global Management is a two-year full-time master’s degree program. It is the only
program in the world that combines a rigorous training in the field of Artificial Intelligence
with a thorough introduction to the subject of business administration. The course will
begin with introductions to bridging topics such as mathematics for AI, programming, and
data visualisation and analytics. This will be followed by AI units hat will include
foundational subjects such as machine learning, decision-making, and deep learning,
application areas such as natural language and vision processing, and advanced topics
like Large Language Models and Generative AI. The business subjects will include
economics, accounting, finance, marketing, operations, organisations, and strategy, as
well as applications of AI to functional areas such as finance, marketing, and operations.
- The MAIB program emphasises project-based learning. Right from the beginning in Term
1, individual and group projects are used to involve the students in building and
deploying software that explores one or more areas of learning. For instance, the
introductory course on programming in Term 1 requires quite a lot of hands-on python
coding for a software project. The emphasis on projects is greater during the second
year where students carry out projects involving financial fraud detection, automated
financial trading, e-commerce recommendation systems, and supply chain optimisation.
In Terms 5 and 6 students carry out two major term-length projects. The students are
encouraged to think about their career goals early on and select project topics that will
advance these career objectives.
- Although MAIB is officially listed as a management category program, it provides a
thorough introduction to the technical aspects of Artificial Intelligence. Even
management-adjacent subjects like AI in Finance, or AI in Marketing, or AI in Operations
are taught in a technical manner that requires strong Python skills along with an
understanding of the business context of the application and the business problems
being solved. On the other hand, the technical artificial intelligence subjects are taught in
the context of their business applications, and an emphasis is placed on understanding
the business issues involved and the part they play in designing and delivering any such
software.
- An undergraduate degree in computer science is not a requirement for admission to the
program. Many students with a science or engineering degree are admitted to the
program and several students with commerce or business degree have also been
admitted and performed creditably in the past. An adequate level of exposure to and
understanding of quantitative thinking and training is required, however, as evidenced by
the student’s having taken at least four subjects from a quantitative area of knowledge
during their undergraduate degree program. All applicants must have an undergraduate
degree from a recognised university or other approved tertiary institution, including
satisfactory completion of at least four units of Mathematics, Computer Science,
Economics, Engineering, Science or another quantitative discipline.
- All applications are first judged on their eligibility for the program by the Admissions staff
through an evaluation of their college degree transcripts and evidence of their English
language skills. After an evaluation of the quality of their past education, their satisfaction
of the quantitative subject requirement and their English language skills, short-listed
candidates are asked to appear at an interview with a member of our faculty either at
one of our campuses or online. The goal of this interview is to determine
a. whether the student has a strong motivation to study the subject of artificial
intelligence and build a career in the field,
b. whether they have started to prepare for this career either by acquiring important
skills such as Python programming, or by studying and using AI products and
tools from the point of view a of a lay user,
c. whether the student can think logically and clearly using basic quantitative
arguments that do not require any specialised mathematical or computer
knowledge beyond a high school education,
d. whether the student can think analytically and examine a business situation from
a logical point of view, but without requiring any specialised knowledge of artificial
intelligence or other specialised disciplines, and
e. whether the student has familiarised themselves with basic knowledge about the
MAIB program and its unique attributes.
These are the five most important points to remember for applicants to the Master of AI
in Business degree program. A sixth issue that is important to keep in mind is that
although no computer programming background is necessary for admission, familiarity
with basic computer skills, such as an Office Suite, is a requirement and will be
evaluated by the interviewer. An introductory course on computer programming, possibly
taken online, can be useful for applicants.