2026 How Business Schools Build Competitive Advantage in an AI-Shaped Market
Your Curriculum Is Your Brand: How Business Schools Build Competitive Advantage in an AI-Shaped Market
Thursday, October 1–Friday, October 2, 2026
Location
Gleacher Center
University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Chicago, Illinois
Business schools have always competed on reputation. Increasingly, they're competing on relevance.
Today's employers expect graduates who are prepared for an AI-enabled workplace. At the same time, prospective students are evaluating programs through AI-powered search long before they visit a university website. Together, these shifts are making curriculum one of the clearest signals of a business school's value, differentiation, and workforce relevance.
The Graduate Business Curriculum Roundtable and Everspring invite business school leaders to this executive briefing to explore how institutions are translating market intelligence into competitive advantage. Through research, peer discussion, and practical examples, attendees will examine how leading schools are aligning curriculum with workforce demand, strengthening employer relevance, and making those strengths more visible throughout the student decision journey.
The event will take place in the afternoon of Thursday, October 1 and the morning of Friday, October 2. Attend both events or register for just one. There is no charge for Thursday's event. There will be a fee for Friday's session with discounts for teams attending the event.
Agenda
Thursday, October 1 | Executive Briefing
The Thursday program will begin with lunch and networking, followed by an afternoon executive briefing focused on the changing business education landscape. Sessions will explore how schools can integrate AI fluency into the curriculum, respond to evolving employer expectations, and communicate their AI capabilities more clearly to prospective students. The day will conclude with a discussion of key takeaways, followed by a happy hour.
Friday, October 2 | Curricular Agility Working Session
Return with us on Friday morning, for discussions, presentations and working sessions to address how to ensure your curriculum is agile and relevant in today's AI focused marketplace. Learn more about the Roundtable's recent Curricular Agility in Graduate Business Research and how you can apply the framework to your institution. The program will also include examples from schools who are innovating their curriculum with AI in mind and plenty of opportunities to discuss and network with your colleagues and peers.
Key Takeaways
Participants will leave with:
- A framework for aligning curriculum with employer demand and student expectations.
- Strategies for making program strengths more visible across AI search and market-facing content.
- Examples of how peer institutions are accelerating curriculum innovation while preserving academic quality and faculty governance
- Practical ideas for strengthening their school's competitive position over the next 12–24 months.
Who Should Attend
- Business school deans
- Associate and assistant deans
- Curriculum and academic affairs leaders
- Faculty
- Marketing and communications leaders
- Admissions and enrollment leaders
- Executive education leaders
- Senior graduate business administrators
Academic Sponsor:
Registration is now open!
Click Here to Register
There is NO Charge to attend the Thursday Event
Pricing for Friday's workshop for Roundtable Members:
- $250 for your first attendee
- $150 for each additional attendee from your institution
- $350 for your first attendee
- $250 for each additional attendee from your institution
If you are a Roundtable member school, please click on the MEMBER button and login with your membership credentials and register yourself and your associate (s). All registrants must be in our system for registration. Please contact us to add any associates or for the add on Promo Code.
If you are not a Roundtable member, please click on the PUBLIC button. Then you can register yourself. Once we receive your registration we will send you a Promo Code for your additional registrants.
If you need any assistance with your membership login credentials, to add staff members to your records, or with any other questions, please email info@gbcroundtable.org or call 1-844-784-6227, ext 1.
Cancellations
Requests for refunds must be submitted via email at info@gbcroundtable.org on the following schedule:
- September 18, 2026 or before: Full refund.
- After September 18, 2026: Refunds will not be granted after this date.
Click here for Graduate Business Curriculum Roundtable membership information and application.
