AI Upskilling for Leaders – Drive Responsible AI Innovation with New ExecEd Programs on edX

Article5 min read

July 24, 2025

Is your organization ready to harness AI’s full potential? Discover how new executive education programs from Saïd Business School, University of Oxford and the London School of Economics and Political Sciences can equip your leaders to develop effective AI strategies, adapt business models, and respond to changes in AI policy, ensuring your company keeps pace with innovation.

Leaders’ lack of upskilling may be slowing down AI transformation

Are your leaders lagging in the AI race? A 2025 McKinsey report shows that C-Suite executives are more inclined to identify employee readiness as an obstacle to AI adoption than their own leadership alignment. This is despite the fact that employees are currently using generative AI at three times the rate leaders expect. C-suite leaders must prepare their organizations and employees for the impending impact of AI on their business, and also anticipate changes to their own roles. edX research shows CEOs express greater apprehension about integrating AI into their roles and are more concerned about falling behind than their employees.

Source: 2024 edX AI Report – Harnessing AI for a Sustainable Future

This gap between employee adoption and leadership strategy is further highlighted by the fact that while employees are readily embracing AI, they also express concerns about its impact on their roles.  A recent edX survey found that nearly half of current workers believe that advancements in AI will impact their immediate career goals – and 62% are upskilling or reskilling in response. 

Leaders are responsible for driving AI transformation. If leaders don’t recognize the role they play in ensuring strategic alignment around AI adoption, and don’t increase their own AI capabilities – they could put their organizations at risk. 

Imagine a financial services company where the CEO viewed AI only as a tool, not a strategic priority. When the CTO proposed pilot projects for AI integration – they were rejected or stalled due to budget cuts, perceived risk and a lack of understanding from the C-Suite. Given the pace of AI innovation in the industry, in a short period of time, the company starts to fall behind – losing its competitive edge, delivering a subpar client experience and ultimately losing talent due to frustration from forward-thinking employees. The company could have turned this around by creating a unified, forward-looking AI strategy for their company.

Industries leading the way in AI Upskilling for Leaders

Leaders must champion high-quality, credible AI upskilling for their employees and lead by example through their own continuous learning. Enrollment data from edX Executive Education programs, including both company-sponsored and self-funded learners, reveals key learning trends among leaders. The ranking below shows the top industries by enrollment within the AI vertical, highlighting the leading sectors for AI upskilling1:

  1. Financial Services
  2. Health Care Or Biotech
  3. Information Technology Or Services
  4. Consulting
  5. Education
  6. Engineering Or Construction
  7. Energy Or Mining
  8. Public Sector
  9. Manufacturing
  10. Advertising, Media, Or Communications

 12U internal data. (2025). 2U, LLC. Retrieved July 2025

Leaders are committed to their own AI development. To support this, learning and development managers can offer tailored programs and resources designed to meet leaders’ specific AI upskilling requirements and strategic goals.

New Executive Education Programs in AI Innovation and AI Policy from Saïd Business School, University of Oxford and the London School of Economics and Political Sciences

The new programs are designed for leaders who need to balance speed, innovation and risk — in a time when companies are facing fast-paced AI advancements, changes in the regulatory environment and pressure to remain competitive. The Oxford AI-Driven Business Transformation Executive Programme is one of edX’s most comprehensive AI programs for leaders. The program serves as a learning pathway which combines content from three leading Oxford programs in Artificial Intelligence, Strategic Innovation and Executive Strategy. Over the course of 5 months, leaders from diverse industries will engage in an in-depth learning journey, participating in live sessions with faculty and a cohort of peers. Leaders walk away with a playbook to immediately implement what they learn in their organizations. 

The LSE AI: Law, Policy and Governance course focuses on current regulatory changes in Europe, with direct coverage of the new AI Act. This 6-week course will be highly relevant to companies operating or doing business in Europe, but also takes a global perspective, comparing national approaches to AI regulation in the UK, US and China. As employees look to their companies to balance speed, innovation and risk – the course offers timely and critical lessons to prepare leaders for the future.

In addition to the two new featured programs, edX offers an extensive portfolio of leadership, AI and digital transformation programs, including:

Why it Matters for Learning and Development:

The programs are the perfect fit with high-priority initiatives aimed at senior leaders and managers in the leadership pipeline. The programs can support organization’s learning and development goals through: 

  • Increased ROI on training: The cohort-based programs yield higher completion rates, and offer playbooks and frameworks for application in the context of your organization.
  • Improved talent retention: The programs offer an opportunity to invest in innovative and forward-thinking leaders, motivating them to build towards your companies’ most ambitious goals. 
  • Reduced business risk: L&D managers can mitigate business risk by offering high-quality, credible learning opportunities from trusted institutions and experts. This empowers leaders to make well-informed decisions.

Ready to develop confident, AI-savvy leaders?

Contact us today for a tailored consultation on how these programs can fast-track your organization’s AI readiness.

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Academic Integrity in the Generative AI Era

White Paper1 min read

edX Learning Strategy Team

June 24, 2025

About the report

Discover how to protect academic integrity in the age of AI.

This practical and forward-thinking white paper, written by learning strategy experts at edX, explores how educators can move beyond plagiarism detection to thoughtfully integrate generative AI into teaching and assessment. Packed with actionable strategies, ethical frameworks, and future-focused guidance, it supports institutions in fostering critical thinking, promoting responsible AI use, and preparing students for the evolving world of work. Ideal for academic leaders, instructional designers, and faculty, this resource offers insights to navigate the post-plagiarism era with clarity and confidence.

Key Takeouts:

  • Understand how generative AI challenges traditional definitions of authorship and originality
  • Learn strategies to build critical thinking and ethical decision-making skills
  • Access guiding principles for integrating AI while maintaining academic rigor
  • Explore frameworks and real-world examples for responsible AI use in coursework
  • Gain insights into equity, AI literacy, and the limitations of detection tools
  • Prepare students for AI-driven careers with future-ready, ethical technology skills

Support Your Campus in the AI Era

If you’re an educational institution navigating the rise of AI in the classroom, this resource is for you.

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How Andhra Pradesh empowered students with credit-bearing online courses

Case Study4 min read

March 30, 2025

In a move to equip students with in-demand skills for success in the global workforce, the Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) partnered with edX to provide free access to credit-bearing, university-certified edX online courses for millions of university students across Andhra Pradesh.

Preparing Millions for Work: Andhra Pradesh’s Skill Strategy

Is it more important to ensure broad access to education or to deliver high-quality learning experiences? For many higher education leaders, striking the right balance can be a challenge—especially when preparing students for an increasingly competitive job market. But in Andhra Pradesh, a state in southern India, education officials believe students shouldn’t have to choose. But education officials in Andhra Pradesh, a state in southern India, know transformative learning experiences require both.

With a focus on complementing the existing curriculum, APSCHE partnered with edX to give students across Andhra Pradesh access to on-demand learning that helps them develop the skills needed to succeed in a global job market—beyond the classroom.

Hear from Anant Agarwal, Chief Academic Officer at 2U, Founder of edX, Professor at MIT, as he shares more about the vision of the partnership and the impact

Challenge: Improve student employability

The international job market has never been more competitive. To help students appeal to employers and establish rewarding careers — in India and around the world — APSCHE identified a few key goals:

  • Enable students to earn credentials from top universities: Connect students with the chance to earn valuable credentials from top universities and institutions, like Harvard and MIT. 
  • Enhance curricula with job-relevant skills and certificates: Expand on traditional curriculum with resume-enriching certificates, as well as practical, skills-based training in areas like AI.
  • Mitigate economic disparities. Make sure low-income and middle-class students have access to high-quality learning opportunities.

Ultimately, the government wanted to “bring Harvard and MIT to India” as part of a bigger goal: To improve student employability. Partnering with edX would mean students could learn core competencies, build essential skills and digital capabilities, and earn credentials from top institutions — all tools that would help those students stand out professionally.

Solution: Increase access to high-quality credit-bearing courses

APSCHE and edX worked together to create a first-of-its-kind program for Andhra Pradesh college students where they received free access to more than 2,000 online credit-bearing courses from edX’s Subscription catalog. The courses — which span subjects like AI, big data, data analysis, data science, communications, career development, machine learning, Python, algorithms, and soft skills — help students develop practical skills that translate to real-world professional contexts. 

Students were also able to earn certificates from prestigious universities that had once been logistically or financially out of reach. Those credentials helped students attest to their skills, strengthened their résumés, and opened doors to diverse national and global employment or study opportunities. And once students had taken the courses required by their universities, they could take as many additional courses as they liked — a powerful return for motivated learners.

But these students were not doing it alone. APSCHE assigned more than 5,000 qualified mentors to help students master learning objectives. These mentors hand-selected courses that complemented their existing curricula and focused on the skills their students needed. They also took the courses alongside students, immersing themselves in the content so they were able to offer meaningful support in real time.

Impact: Engaged, empowered, and credentialed students

The response from students in Andhra Pradesh was overwhelmingly positive. In just a few months, more than 590,000 students in Andhra Pradesh from more than 900 colleges and 22 state universities in the region enrolled in the program. In addition, students completed and earned certificates in upwards of 318,000 courses, and tallied more than a million learning hours total. Courses in computer science, data analysis, business, and communications have proved especially popular.

Top subjects by number of certificates

  • Computer science: 54,000 certificates
  • Data analysis and statistics: 31,000 certificates
  • Business and management: 22,000 certificates
  • Communication and soft skills: 10,000 certificates

Looking ahead

This partnership between APSCHE and edX demonstrated how combining quality education with broad access can empower millions of students. A key factor in its success was the thoughtful integration of on-demand learning with the existing curriculum, ensuring a seamless and relevant experience for students. By providing flexible learning options and dedicated mentorship, the initiative helped prepare Andhra Pradesh’s university students with the skills and credentials needed to thrive in an increasingly competitive global job market. It stands as a powerful example of how innovation and collaboration can transform higher education and expand opportunities for learners everywhere.

Accelerate the workforce of the future, with edX

Explore opportunities to expand learning beyond the classroom for better career outcomes.

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