Artificial intelligence is already changing the way companies operate, make decisions, and serve customers, and Reichmann University is building one of its MBA courses around those changes. In an interview with jerusalem postDr. Roy Sasson, head of the AI and Big Data track at Reichmann University’s Global MBA program, said the goal is not to turn students into programmers, but to develop experts who can apply AI within real-world organizations.
Sasson said AI is most valuable when combined with a strong data infrastructure and a clear understanding of how an organization works. He argued that companies increasingly need employees, whether from engineering, finance, manufacturing, or other analytical backgrounds, who can identify inefficiencies, redesign workflows, and create new value for customers.
He said the track is designed for professionals already working within organizations that are working to improve productivity, rethink workflows, and build new products using AI and data. In that sense, this program is positioned more as a path for people who want to become agents of change within an existing company than as a start-up training program.
Sasson said one of the features of the program is its hands-on structure. He said students work on big data, machine learning and AI projects using real corporate problems and real datasets, rather than relying primarily on lectures, slides and traditional exams.
He said the faculty is made up of instructors with a combination of academic and industry experience, and that students will build solutions in a cloud-based environment similar to those used by companies. The curriculum also includes leadership-focused seminars and a field trip to New York, where students connect with startups, venture capital firms, corporations, and university AI labs.
To illustrate the type of work students will face, Sasson cited projects such as financial recommendation systems, chatbots in the travel sector, and infrastructure monitoring to support machine learning. In each case, he said, the challenge is not just building a prototype, but creating a tool reliable enough to operate within a company with real customers, real debt, and real operational constraints.
Sasson also cited concerns that because AI is evolving so rapidly, today’s specializations could soon be overtaken by others. He said the program is designed around transferable skills such as asking the right questions, critically appraising evidence, persuading stakeholders and linking strategy to implementation.
He argued that even as tools change, companies still need people who can think clearly, learn quickly, and make decisions in uncertain environments. In Sasson’s view, the lasting value of this degree lies not only in exposure to current AI systems, but also in learning how to guide organizations through technological change.
Learn more about AI and big data tracks.
This article was written in collaboration with Reichmann University.
