Executive AI Strategy

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping industries, business models and ways of working. As organisations face growing pressure to respond, senior leaders are expected to make strategic decisions about AI adoption, often without having a technical background. These expectations include balancing organisational goals, workforce implications, governance requirements and rapidly evolving technologies.

As a leader, you don’t need a deep technical background to make decisions about AI. You need the clarity to see where AI can create real value, the ability to make informed decisions and the knowledge to develop a strategy that is grounded in organisational context, not hype.

This interactive four-week course equips leaders with the insights, frameworks and practical tools to evaluate AI opportunities and develop an actionable AI strategy.

You’ll follow a structured approach to evaluating AI opportunities, including how to understand the business challenge and evaluate the technical and operational requirements. You’ll learn how to determine whether AI is the right response and develop an AI strategy aligned with your organisational context. Working through real-world case studies, collaborative discussions and live workshops, you’ll apply your learning to organisational challenges. By the end of the course, you’ll have a practical strategy that aligns AI initiatives with your organisational goals, capabilities, workforce considerations and long-term value.

Guided by a renowned University of Cambridge academic and industry expert, this course offers a practical approach to strategic AI adoption, focusing on your organisational challenges throughout.

Through live workshops, discussions with a cohort of leaders, and practical tasks, you’ll build the knowledge, confidence and skills to lead lasting AI transformation.

This course explores how organisations can develop an effective AI strategy through a practical, evidence-based approach. Learners will evaluate AI use cases, assess risks and workforce implications before applying a practical, three-tiered framework to develop an AI strategy aligned with organisational goals.

Each module builds on the last, combining practical tools, real-world examples and collaborative activities. By the end of the course, learners will have produced an AI strategy brief for their own organisational context.

• Module 1: From vision to use-case

• Module 2: When AI strategy goes wrong

• Module 3: Empowering people inside and out of your organisation

• Module 4: Building a strong AI strategy

As most of the learning in this course takes place in live workshops, you must attend at least 70% of live workshops in order to pass the course. Please speak with an enrolment advisor about options if this is a barrier for you. You can schedule a call with an enrolment advisor by selecting ‘Request a call’ above.

October 2026:

• Modules 1 – 3: Online workshops from 2.30pm – 4.00pm (UK time) on Wednesdays and Fridays.

• Module 4: Online workshops from 2.30pm –4.00pm (UK time) on Tuesday and Friday.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Identify the real value of AI systems in your organisation versus what is driven by AI hype.

• Identify and assess the contextual risks associated with AI adoption.

• Examine the impact of AI on workforce roles and skills to inform organisational AI strategy decisions.

• Critically analyse the business case of AI in your organisation.

• Apply a structured, three-tiered framework to prioritise AI initiatives for executive-level decision-making.

• Develop an AI strategy for your organisation aligned with your business goals.

On successful completion of the course, you’ll receive a certificate from the University of Cambridge and a digital badge to display on your LinkedIn profile. These University of Cambridge credentials not only showcase your knowledge and expertise but also demonstrate your commitment to professional development – helping future-proof your career.

This course is designed for leaders who are responsible for shaping how AI is adopted within their organisation. Whether you are defining strategy, evaluating AI opportunities or guiding organisational change, the course provides practical frameworks to help you make informed decisions and develop an AI strategy aligned with your organisational context.

• Senior leadership and executive roles. For leaders responsible for setting organisational direction, evaluating AI opportunities and aligning AI initiatives with strategic goals.

• Founders and entrepreneurs. For business leaders looking to identify where AI can unlock value, support growth and inform long-term business strategy.

• Technology and IT leadership roles. For technical leaders seeking to connect AI capabilities with organisational priorities, manage risk and support responsible AI adoption.

• Public sector and charitable organisations. For leaders who need to evaluate AI within complex organisational contexts while balancing public value, accountability and resource constraints.

Our flexible, online courses – delivered via a world-leading learning platform – reflect the University of Cambridge experience and values, with low learner-to-tutor ratios and academically rigorous standards.

Designed for leaders, our learning model helps you advance your skills and lead in emerging areas. With a focused commitment of around 4 to 5 hours per week, you'll build your network through an engaging and impactful learning journey that encourages collaboration with academics, industry experts and fellow leaders.

Courses are delivered in weekly modules, allowing you to plan your time effectively around existing commitments. Live, interactive workshops with Cambridge academics and industry experts sit at the heart of the experience, bringing you the latest research in the field coupled with real-world insight.

Throughout your online learning experience with Cambridge Advance Online, you’ll have digital access to a dedicated course tutor, an expert in the field, who will help steer your learning and provide you with support and guidance every step of the way.