MBA Program Requires Students to Build AI Products Before Graduation
BITS School of Management (BITSoM) Mumbai has made AI product development mandatory for all management students, a requirement that takes effect with the 2026-27 cohort. Students who do not complete an AI product will not graduate.
The integration goes beyond offering AI as a specialization. Instead, the school embeds AI across every management course, treating it as a foundational skill rather than an elective track. Dean Saravanan Kesavan said the decision reflects how AI cuts across all business domains.
What the AI Curriculum Includes
Students learn to build functional AI tools, not just use existing platforms. While the curriculum covers generative AI tools like ChatGPT, students progress to designing and implementing their own solutions-building chatbots and other AI applications from the ground up.
Non-technical students participate meaningfully in this work. The school teaches coding basics in ways that allow students without technical backgrounds to develop AI products. Kesavan said understanding how to use tools responsibly, recognizing bias, and designing solutions thoughtfully matter more than traditional coding expertise.
Broader Curriculum Design
BITSoM brings in faculty from institutions like Wharton, NYU Stern, and UT Austin to teach 90% of courses. The school received over 7,000 applications this year with an acceptance rate below 2%.
Beyond AI, the program emphasizes workplace readiness through mandatory internships, live projects, and simulations. About 100% of students complete three-month internships between their first and second year. The school also engages industry practitioners as instructors to expose students to real-world challenges.
The program targets both freshers and experienced professionals. About 12% of each cohort enters directly after undergraduate studies, while most students have prior work experience.
AI Beyond Management
Law and design students at the school also engage with AI from their domain perspectives-intellectual property and liability concerns for law students, workflow and creativity applications for design students. However, AI integration remains mandatory only in the management program.
The school also offers an online reskilling program to make AI accessible to alumni and professionals outside BITSoM.
For product development professionals, this approach reflects a shift in how business schools prepare managers. Rather than treating AI as specialized knowledge, BITSoM expects every graduate to have hands-on experience building AI solutions. Learn more about AI for Product Development and Generative AI and LLM to deepen your understanding of these technologies.
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