New university capability will give metropolitan and regional businesses practical support to adopt AI responsibly, improve productivity, drive innovation and build workforce capability – supporting delivery of the Australian Government’s National AI Plan – while ensuring graduates are workforce ready.
La Trobe University has launched a pilot AI Business Studio that mobilises the University’s business and artificial intelligence expertise to help small and medium enterprises identify and adopt practical, responsible uses of AI.
Developed through the La Trobe AI Institute and led by the La Trobe Business School, the Studio provides participating businesses with an accessible pathway into AI.
The AI Business Studio will help businesses assess their data, technology and workforce readiness; identify opportunities for automation and workflow improvement and develop practical recommendations to improve productivity and client outcomes.
La Trobe Vice-Chancellor Professor Theo Farrell said that many small businesses had identified the need for support in being AI-capable.
“We’ve heard from small businesses across our campus network, from Melbourne to Mildura, that they see the exciting opportunities AI offers, but they need help getting there,” Professor Farrell said.
“Through our new AI Business Studio, our aim is to support more than 1,000 SMEs over 2027 and 2028 to adopt AI, whether that’s in helping them assess their data, technology and workforce readiness; identify opportunities for automation and workflow improvement or develop practical recommendations to improve productivity and client outcomes.”
La Trobe’s new AI Business Studio supports a central objective of the Australian Government’s National AI Plan: scaling the adoption of AI so that Australian businesses – particularly SMEs and regional enterprises – remain competitive, efficient and able to benefit from emerging technologies. The National Plan identifies widespread, responsible AI adoption and workforce capability as essential to building a more productive and resilient economy.
In addition to the benefits to businesses, La Trobe University students will now have access to a program that will give them valuable hands-on experience in applying AI to real small and medium sized metropolitan and regional businesses. The program will enable our graduates to enter the workforce AI-ready.
The new initiative is being piloted in July with 21 Business School students, before it is scaled across the University.
Students will work in supervised teams on clearly scoped business challenges, providing clients with practical recommendations and outputs while gaining valuable experiential learning and applied AI capability.
It will include an “AI Boot Camp” for rapid upskilling and a project undertaken at a partner organisation over a 10-week period, where students will provide AI services and insights to small and medium business from a defined catalogue of challenges.
Students on the pilot program will work with one of three businesses signed up to the trial, including Melbourne-based Insurgence, which supports organisations to invest in AI and responsibly apply it to real business problems.
Third-year Business student Anna Skoog Ahlqvist will be one of the students working with Insurgence and is excited to gain real-world experience and strengthen her problem-solving skills.
“I’m interested in AI because of its endless possibilities. Having studied both with and without AI, I’ve seen how it can improve efficiency, support research and help generate ideas while still requiring critical thinking. I hope to develop practical AI skills and to learn how to use AI effectively in a business environment,” Anna said.
Insurgence Managing Director Matteo Castiello said the company exists to accelerate intelligence and make work matter by helping organisations adopt AI, and there’s no better way to do that than backing the next generation to lead the change.
“Students are actually the best placed people to help small and medium businesses navigate the shift to AI,” Matteo said.
“They’re AI-native, they’re curious and through the AI Business Studio they’ll build skills that go well beyond the tech: understanding how a business really works, communicating with real stakeholders and turning that knowledge into solutions that deliver real value.
“A lot of businesses are nervous about what AI means for their workforce, but we see students as the pioneers who’ll reimagine how those businesses run. That’s why we jumped at the chance to be part of the AI Business Studio and help bring it to life.”
La Trobe Business School Dean Professor Colin Higgins said the University was committed to bringing a new type of learning experience to business education.
“AI and the jobs of the future rest on students having real-life, hands-on experience with business leaning into new digital and AI opportunities,” Professor Higgins said.
“The AI Business Studio will provide students with not only real exposure to the jobs of the future and the skills needed to flourish – but also the networks and confidence to work with employers before they’ve even finished studying.
AI Institute Director and lead of the AI Business Studio, Patricia Haueiss, said the aim was to expand the program across the University, enabling thousands of students to gain authentic industry experience while providing businesses with an accessible entry point into AI.
Patricia said as AI continued to reshape many professions and sectors, universities had an important role to play.
“Our responsibility is not simply to adopt new technologies, but to help ensure they are used ethically, responsibly and in ways that deliver meaningful benefits for people, industries and communities,” Patricia said.
“The Institute will help us build the capability, partnerships and shared understanding we need for that future. It will support students to develop the skills they need in an AI-enabled workforce, help researchers translate discoveries into real-world outcomes and create new opportunities for staff and partners to collaborate.”
The La Trobe AI Institute, part of the University’s sector-leading AI-first Strategy, was launched on Wednesday, July 22 with a special La Trobe Industry Innovation Series event – AI Innovation to Impact – which explored how artificial intelligence is having a positive impact on industries, organisations and communities.
Leading experts across energy, agriculture, digital platforms and facility services shared real-world applications of AI, including digital twins, predictive modelling and AI agents that are improving productivity, decision-making and operational performance. Presenters included companies with whom La Trobe is partnering, including Energy Safe Victoria, Cirka, Aglantis and Core dna.
About AI at La Trobe University
- La Trobe University is a leading AI-first university in Australia: embracing and embedding artificial intelligence responsibly and at scale across teaching, research, industry engagement and university operations.
- The University’s people-centred approach to AI is grounded in La Trobe’s founding mission of equity and access: ensuring every student, regardless of background or location, can succeed in an AI-enabled world and ensuring all staff have access to AI tools that assist their work. Through the University’s landmark collaboration with OpenAI, 40,000 La Trobe students and staff will have access to ChatGPT Edu by 2027, with 5,000 of these licenses already rolled out this year.
- Through world-leading research and working with industry partners, La Trobe is applying AI ‘for good’ to some of the world’s most pressing challenges – including cancer therapeutics, vaccines, digital health, sustainability, smart agriculture, energy efficiency and biotechnology.
- In teaching and learning, La Trobe’s ambition is to embed AI across the entire course curriculum. This is to ensure graduates are fully prepared for a fast-evolving AI-shaped workforce.
- The University is currently rolling out a suite of AI courses, including a new AI MBA program, a new Bachelor of AI Engineering and an AI Innovation Ventures. These join a range of range of existing undergraduate and postgraduate courses with an AI focus, including the Master of Artificial Intelligence.
