With the collaboration between SAP SE, an international enterprise software company, and KAIST, a new course for the Department of Business and Technology Management (BTM) has been introduced: “Special Topics: Enterprise Business Solutions with Artificial Intelligence” (MSB481). In the course, SAP SE staff are present online every class and will evaluate students’ final projects. The course also utilizes cloud services and hardware provided free of charge by SAP. The KAIST Herald interviewed Professor Kim Hyejin from the Department of Business and Technology Management, the lecturer of MSB481, to learn more about the course and the partnership with SAP.

Could you tell us about the early stages of planning the MSB481 course with SAP? What were the expected outcomes from the course? 

After we decided to offer this course, I spent several sessions over the summer talking to the SAP folks about what would be taught in the course and what we will be dealing with in the project. The mutual expectation for the class was that the students learn to apply various IT solutions such as IoT (Internet of Things), cloud services, and AI/machine learning to solve real problems for society.

During the introduction of the course, potential AI solutions for the increasingly frequent natural disasters were heavily emphasized. Was reducing the severity of  climate issues a major focus of establishing this partnership between KAIST and SAP?

Not necessarily. I had several [brainstorming] sessions with SAP consultants and we went through a process [that consisted of] individual brainstorming, grouping the individual ideas into multiple categories, and voting for the appropriate topics. We had various topics ranging from improving student life on campus to smart factories in manufacturing. Since ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) is a trending topic in the business field lately, we thought it would be good to introduce it to the students and have them find solutions.

Why wasn’t the course conducted as a course in the School of Computing with a focus on business rather than a computer science-heavy course in BTM?

One of the reasons that the course is offered at BTM may simply be a matter of administration, or whoever started the conversation with SAP to introduce the course. But more importantly, I think the objective of the course is to “come up with some creative and integrative solution to solve a given (business or societal) problem,” and coding or learning about the IT solutions is merely a tool, and secondary to solving the problem. The IT solutions don't even have to come from SAP, it can be from any other company that offers these kinds of solutions. Recently, KAIST has been encouraging the departments to offer more [interdisciplinary or] transdisciplinary courses, I think this course is a perfect fit for the context.  

The course, heavily relying on input from SAP employees, carries a highly interactive nature between the students and the staff. Students will most definitely learn from the staff of SAP, but what do you think are some of the things SAP employees can gain from conducting this class with the students at KAIST? 

Because SAP is mostly a B2B (Business to Business) company, getting students exposed to their various solutions is important in terms of growing a pool of potential clients. In other words, the students can work at companies in various industries and they may be more prone to adopt SAP solutions since they have had experience with them. I think SAP is also hoping to find good potential employees that could work for them in the future. They are looking into offering internships to students who make outstanding performance in the course.

And finally, is there anything you would like to say to our readers or the students of the BTM department?

The course format is really new in the sense that the students, industry (i.e., SAP), and academia (i.e., the instructor) are working together for [the creation of new knowledge]. The course is truly hybrid in that the students and I, who are located in Daejeon, are actively interacting with SAP consultants who are in Singapore, Japan, [and more] via the Internet. I’m curious how this course will progress [by] the end of the semester, and hopefully we can continue this endeavor in the future.

It is hoped that the course would introduce students to a variety of tools to expand their limitations for innovation and creativity. By gaining knowledge of diverse sectors and the up-to-date, rapidly evolving technologies, as well as coming up with solutions to contemporary problems, the course is expected to help foster AI-mindful business executives and managers.