July 9, 2026, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (EDT)
How do you prepare future-ready business students?
This summer, we’re uncovering the answers together.
Learn the real strategies and philosophies of business educators who are shaping agile students for an uncertain future. Our faculty speakers will teach you how to help students:
• Anticipate and plan for multiple futures
• Make decisive strategic choices under pressure
• Develop business acumen when resources are limited
• Gain a competitive advantage through soft skills
• And more
Plus, you’ll learn about new Marketplace tools designed to help you go deeper with students.
Session Schedule
10:10 a.m. (ET)
AI Skills for Future-Ready Business Leaders: Practical Classroom Strategies That Work
Dr. Angela Thomas
Purdue Global University
GE Healthcare
Today’s business students must learn to navigate a world where intelligent tools accelerate decision-making, redefine workflows, and transform strategic thinking. Dr. Angela Thomas will introduce three competencies every student should master and show you how to teach them through simple activities, assignment redesigns, and ethical frameworks.
10:22 a.m. (ET)
Designing Assessments That Build Strategic Thinking
Asheeqah Buccas
IMM Graduate School
Strategic thinking remains one of the most challenging skills to develop and assess through conventional academic assessments. Learn how one educator combined performance in a marketing simulation with written strategic reports, in-class presentations, peer reviews, and an individual online assessment to develop and evidence a distinct dimension of strategic and analytical thinking.
10:34 a.m. (ET)
Building Future-Ready Business Leaders in a Changing World
Jennifer Namutebi
Nkumba University
How do you navigate rapid changes in technology while dealing with limited digital access, infrastructure constraints, and insufficient pedagogical approaches? Jennifer Namutebi shares how she brought an entrepreneurship simulation to MBA students in Uganda and how it engaged students and improved outcomes despite technical challenges.
10:56 a.m. (ET)
Business Simulations in the Age of AI
Martin Klima
Marketplace Simulations
How can AI benefit business simulation learning? In this session, you’ll learn about new AI tools from Marketplace Simulations that are designed to challenge student thinking and teach them how to make competent, strategic decisions.
11:36 a.m. (ET)
From Surface Answers to Strategic Thinking: Classroom-Tested Techniques
Dr. Melissa Dennis
Gwynedd Mercy University
Help students develop human-centered thinking, challenge default assumptions, expand creative options, and reflect on their decision-making processes. Dr. Melissa Dennis will share ready-to-use prompts and activities you can immediately integrate into simulations, case discussions, or project-based courses.
11:48 a.m. (ET)
Building Strategic Agility with Scenario Planning & Business War Games
Dr. Qingjiu (Tom) Tao
University of Delaware
Today’s business graduates must lead through volatile and unknown futures—yet traditional teaching often relies on static past cases. Learn how to integrate scenario planning and business war games to develop agile, forward-thinking leaders. Using examples from his class, Dr. Tao will highlight tangible impacts on strategic thinking, career readiness, and employer-aligned skills.
12:20 p.m. (ET)
Developing Future-Ready Leaders with Data and AI
Dr. Ernie Cadotte
Marketplace Simulations
NACE, the World Economic Forum, and accrediting bodies like AACSB have identified key competencies every business graduate needs. But how can you be sure your students are building them? This session will show you how to build and measure student competencies with simulations, Career Readiness Reports, and AI mentoring.
12:45 p.m. (ET)
AI and the Future of Human-Centered Education
Ranco Kraaijenbrink
Del Rosario University
If you want your students to avoid the AI trap, you need to teach them to handle complexity with human capacities. Learn how Professor Kraaijenbrink integrated David A. Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory, brain-based learning practices, and aspects of the flipped classroom model to drive teamwork, strategic decision-making, and impact analysis.
12:57 p.m. (ET)
The Learning Between Rounds: Building Reflection, Voice, and Storytelling in Simulation-Based Courses
Sana Iqbal
Beaconhouse National University
Professor Iqbal noticed a pattern in her introductory business courses: students were highly engaged in running their simulated companies, but they struggled to explain the thinking behind their decisions. In this session, she’ll show you how to address this gap through micro-assignments, check-ins, and a creative capstone project. See how she taught students to connect choices to outcomes, diagnose mistakes, and own their decisions.
1:19 p.m. (ET)
New Simulation Reveal
Dr. Ernie Cadotte
Marketplace Simulations
Learn about the newest simulation being released from Marketplace Simulations and how you can join our team of beta testers.