Series of Guest Lectures at Wittenborg Explore AI, Ethics, Culture and Global Business

26.06.2026

April 2026 Block Brings AI, Ethics, Culture, and Global Strategy into Focus at Wittenborg

Throughout the April 2026 academic block, Wittenborg hosted a series of guest lectures bringing together academics, entrepreneurs, and industry experts to explore how modern organisations are designed, scaled, and governed.

Across culture, artificial intelligence, ethics, creative industries, and international business strategy, the programme challenged students to rethink a central question: how do you design organisations that actually work in a global, data-driven world?

Designing Culture in Global Organisations

Associate Professor Adriana Perez-Encinas from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid started the block with a focus on organisational culture in a globalised workforce.

She highlighted how employees increasingly move across borders, carrying diverse values, expectations, and ways of working, transforming organisations into inherently multicultural environments.

Her core message was clear: culture is not something that simply emerges over time, it can be intentionally designed.

Companies, she argued, should actively map the cultural composition of their workforce and create environments that promote inclusion, engagement, and performance.

The session included an interactive gamified quiz and group discussion, encouraging students to reflect on their own cultural assumptions and the value of diversity in practice.

AI, Economics, and Responsible Decision-Making

Another session was delivered by AI strategist Amgad Muhammad, who brought a data-driven perspective on the AI economy and its implications for business decision-making.

With over 20 years of experience across AI, data science, and engineering, including roles at AWS, Microsoft, Teradata, and his own startup TwentyToo.ai, he leads AI strategy and responsible governance across NN Group’s AI Future Ready programme.

His lecture focused on how AI decisions are made in practice and why they must be grounded in evidence rather than hype. He highlighted how many investment decisions are shaped more by narrative than data:

“Every student in this room will make decisions about AI investment in their career… The risk is that those decisions get made based on hype rather than evidence.”

He also discussed the imbalance in the AI industry, where supply-side investment is outpacing enterprise demand, and stressed the importance of governance as AI systems become more complex.

His key message was clear: AI economics, risk, and governance must be considered together to make sound investment decisions.

Data Ethics and Responsible Innovation

Entrepreneur and researcher Davide Parrilli delivered a session on data ethics and building resilient, compliant data-driven products and business models.

He emphasised that ethics and legal compliance must be embedded from the beginning of product design, not added as an afterthought.

Without this foundation, he argued, organisations risk building systems that appear efficient but fail under real-world legal and ethical scrutiny.

Creative Strategy and Integrated Campaign Development

Digital designer and founder of Gismo.tv, Kirill Emelianov, explored integrated campaign development and visual storytelling. He demonstrated how global brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Ray-Ban, and Meta build cohesive narratives across platforms through a combination of design, strategy, and production.

The session highlighted how consistent storytelling is essential in a fragmented digital media landscape.

Investment Readiness and Global Market Expansion

International business consultant Jason Saywood delivered a session on investment readiness and global growth strategies.

Drawing on experience mentoring start-ups including Virgin UK and working with World Startup The Hague, he explained how businesses prepare for funding, identify opportunities, and scale across international markets.

His focus was on turning early-stage ideas into investment-ready ventures.

Market Entry Strategy and Business Models

Entrepreneur and Wittenborg graduate Nikhil Chougule delivered a session on market entry strategy, segmentation, and business model development.

As founder of Bluesurf Technologies Pvt Ltd, he shared practical experience in building and scaling a manufacturing business in competitive global markets. The session provided students with concrete frameworks for understanding how companies enter new markets and position themselves for long-term growth.