It’s been said that the “haves and have-nots” of the future economy will be determined by the ability to understand and utilizing AI tools. Bryant’s Executive Education and Career Accelerator’s professional development programs are working to ensure that companies and their employees fall on the prosperous side of that scale.
Workshops, trainings, and nearly 30 certificate programs run by the Accelerator not only draw upon the knowledge of Bryant educators but the university’s state-of-the-art teaching and training facilities, such as the Artificial Intelligence Lab, Data Visualization Lab, and Sales Performance Lab in the institution’s Business Entrepreneurship Leadership Center (BELC), says Tom McDonald, associate director of the program.
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The Accelerator’s “Foundations of AI” and “AI in Sales” certificate programs are “the most successful new programs we've launched since I have been here,” says McDonald, who moved from the private sector to Bryant in 2020.
Almost any employee at any company can benefit from the basic knowledge of AI offered in “Foundations of AI,” but as a former sales person, McDonald has been especially intrigued by the use of artificial intelligence in sales. “Some older sales people are worried about the younger ones knowing AI and ‘taking their lunch,’” he notes.
Designed for sales and marketing professionals, entrepreneurs and others, the five-week “AI in Sales” course includes instruction on leveraging AI for prospecting, deal management, negotiation, and closing. The course’s capstone project has students applying their AI-enhanced sales strategy to a real-world model.
Bryant is fully embracing AI in its educational model, including an institution-wide initiative to build AI into classrooms across the curriculum, offering a minor in Applied AI, and launching a new Master of Science in Applied Artificial Intelligence for the 2025-26 academic year.
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Likewise, AI is being “baked into” the Accelerator’s courses, says McDonald.
“We're looking to add that element into the programs where it makes sense,” he says, nodding to the Digital and Social Media Strategy Certificate course led by Sharmin Attaran, Ph.D., professor of Marketing and director of the university’s Digital Marketing program. AI concepts are also making their way into Bryant’s popular leadership development and project management certificate programs.
The Accelerator’s certificate courses are offered online and can be instructor-led or self-paced. Also offered to companies are customized training programs, generally conducted in person and with the option of utilizing the BELC facilities.
For example, Marketing Professor Stefanie Boyer, Ph.D., who runs the Bryant University Sales Institute, recently led a two-week training for a local medical device company, Acclaro Medical Group, that, for the first time, used Bryant’s Sales Lab as part of an Accelerator program.
Programs are typically built around Bryant’s known strengths, such as a course on design thinking, which underpins the institution’s unique IDEA program that is mandatory for first-year students. A team-building exercise simulating a climb up Mt. Everest, developed by Bryant Trustee Professor of Management Mike Roberto, is another example.
The diverse clients who have benefitted from Accelerator programs include Rhode Island Department of Health, Northeast Gas Association, Blount Seafood, Brown Medicine, and the McGovern Automotive Group, a regional network of car dealerships.
During the summer, some companies utilize Bryant’s student housing to accommodate attendees for multi-day trainings; the addition of the new Puishys Residence Complex, slated to open this fall, should make that an even more attractive option, says McDonald.
“The campus is beautiful, and some groups work outdoor activities like wiffleball games into their programs,” he says.
Bryant educators also travel off-site to conduct trainings, such as providing leadership training in an upcoming program for staff at Providence’s Roger Williams Park Zoo.
The ability to leverage all of the university’s resources, combined with the institution’s focus on experiential learning, is ultimately what sets Bryant apart, says McDonald.
“Our programs offer practical skills that are immediately applicable,” he says. “We don't get into a lot of the academics or theories: it’s more about using a particular methodology or skill set that they were just taught and coming back and telling us what the outcomes were.”