24 Jun 2026
On 17 June 2026, the Business Intelligence Unit at International Business School Suzhou (IBSS) and the European Association Suzhou (DUSA) held the first DUSA-IBSS AI Circle workshop bringing together industry professionals and academic experts to explore the gap between AI’s potential and its real-world implementation in manufacturing office environments. A total of 19 participants from 16 DUSA member companies attended the event.
Mr Florian Weihard, Chair of DUSA, opened the session with an introduction to the AI Circle workshop series, which is designed to: (1) build a shared understanding of current AI adoption and AI literacy levels across participant companies; (2) identify operational pain points in the office environments that are well-suited to AI solutions; and (3) define at least one practical, testable use case per company that can be pursued using existing market-ready AI tools, and/or through further training or via university-supported projects, without the need for custom development or significant upfront investment.
The workshop was facilitated by Professor Adam Cross, IBSS’ Acting Associate Dean for Business Intelligence. The session began with an analysis of a pre-workshop survey of 26 DUSA member companies. Key findings revealed a strong recognition of AI’s potential to improve operational efficiency, particularly in areas such as marketing, supply chain management, and administration. However, a clear gap remains between interest and implementation, with major barriers including data privacy and security concerns, integration challenges with existing systems, and limited time and resources.
Professor Cross also highlighted the rapid evolution of AI tools and the need for adaptable infrastructure. Participants were also introduced to emerging concepts such as AI agent “skills” and multi-agent “harnesses”, which orchestrate multiple AI agents to solve complex business problems. In a highly interactive session, participants were challenged to identify key “pain points” within their organisations—ranging from manual quotation processes to repetitive data analysis—and to map these challenges directly to AI capabilities, demonstrating tangible pathways to automation.
Dr Jianghang Chen (Associate Professor at IBSS) showcased a live demonstration of a customised AI-powered quoting and cost estimation system, which automates and optimises quotation workflows, saving time and reducing human error. Dr Xiangyun Lu (Associate Professor at IBSS) presented how an AI Agent can automate a company valuation workflow similar to that used by financial analysts in securities firms. The system integrates industry research, company information gathering, financial data collection, DuPont analysis, financial forecasting, DCF valuation, and report generation into a standardised process.
The workshop concluded with a strong call to action: the IBSS Business Intelligence Unit will continue to support DUSA member companies through a series of follow-up workshops, aimed at turning identified use cases into practical, working AI solutions. The event marks the beginning of a longer-term collaboration , designed to strengthen AI literacy and support digital transformation across the region.
24 Jun 2026