Work

Integrating ESG and AI in higher education: a conceptual framework for curriculum innovation

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This paper examines the challenges and opportunities of integrating Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles with artificial intelligence (AI) tools in higher education (HE), particularly in finance and business-related study programmes. Drawing on a structured review of recent academic literature and informed by insights from the Erasmus+ GenESG project, it identifies four key systemic gaps that hinder effective implementation: lack of standardised ESG frameworks, weak interdisciplinary integration, ethical uncertainties surrounding AI use, and low student engagement with sustainability topics. The paper argues that addressing these challenges requires a holistic rethinking of curricula, combining ethical, digital, and sustainability literacies. Through an analysis of pedagogical approaches and institutional barriers, it offers recommendations for more coherent and future-oriented ESG teaching in higher education (HE), grounded in interdisciplinary, practice-based, and ethically aware strategies.

Source: Mednarodno inovativno poslovanje = Journal of Innovative Business and Management

DOI: 10.32015/jibm.2025.17.1.3

Authors: Tina Vukasović, Liliya Terzieva, Elenita Velikova, Justyna Tomala, Michael Murg, Anita Maček