Teaching Responsible AI Entrepreneurship: Experiences from the Erasmus+ Pathfinder Project

Abstract

The rapid integration of artificial intelligence in society presents both profound opportunities and urgent challenges for higher education. As future professionals and entrepreneurs will increasingly rely on AI-driven tools, it is essential that universities cultivate AI literacy, critical thinking, and ethical reasoning. In response, this paper presents the design of a new course: AI in Business: Ethics, Applications, and Entrepreneurship, developed under the Erasmus+ Pathfinder project and launched in September 2025. The course is grounded in the UNESCO AI Competency Frameworks, Design Thinking and ENTRECOMP Framework and supports the European Union’s Digital Education Action Plan by promoting responsible, human-centered AI integration. Structured around ten thematic modules, the course introduces students to AI ethics, human-centered design, technical applications, and innovation strategies. Delivered online, it leverages group projects, case studies, and real-world problem-solving. A distinctive feature is the use of large language models as learning partners framing AI not merely as a tool, but as a co-creative agent in cognitive and entrepreneurial development. Students work in teams to develop and pitch AI-based business ideas, supported by coaching and expert feedback. The course is informed by a constructivist and sociocultural pedagogical foundation, where knowledge is co-constructed through active engagement and mediated by cultural tools, here, generative AI. It also draws on human-centered design thinking and transformative learning theory, encouraging students to reframe assumptions and design solutions with ethical and societal impact in mind. Though the course is set to end in December 2025, this paper outlines the instructional model, theoretical foundation, and implementation strategy. It offers a scalable, interdisciplinary framework for embedding ethical, inclusive, and innovation-driven AI education within higher education, while empowering educators and students to engage critically and constructively with the evolving digital landscape.